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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508769">Double negative</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stalkingstrange/pseuds/stalkingstrange'>stalkingstrange</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mystic Messenger (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, POV Second Person, Platonic Relationships, Reader Insert, Reader Needs a Hug, Saeyoung needs a hug, Slow Burn, Slow start but it gets better, Some unrequited love, Sorry Not Sorry, Vanderwood was secretly hoping that someone would take his place, deep backstory for reader uh?, mentions of drinking, reader is an agent, reader will snap back at you, seven and reader love teasing and bickering at each other, seven is as stubborn as ever, there’s an Mc at Rika’s apartment but it’s not you, we’ll see, you actually have a personality and background, you’re a badass maid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:26:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,828</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stalkingstrange/pseuds/stalkingstrange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When agent Vanderwood has to take on a different case, the agency pairs you up with his old partner. This should’ve been another normal job, but little did you know your new partner was an incarnation of the devil himself (begins 3 days before it lines up with canon storyline)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>707 | Choi Luciel/Main Character, 707 | Choi Luciel/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>160</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. T̵h̵e̵ ̵n̵e̵r̵v̵e̵ ̵r̵a̵c̵k̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵b̵e̵g̵i̵n̵n̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my first fanfic on this site and on Mystic Messenger~ Before starting the story, just know that this will touch on the canon storyline and will have spoilers for both the common and deep routes (But mainly Seven and Jumin later on) Following the canon storyline, there will be an MC at Rika’s apartment, but you will not be playing her. You will learn more background knowledge on your character as the story progresses, but for now, just know that u work at Seven’s agency. Sorry if this chapter is a bit slow, it’s really just the base of the story, but it’s important for the plot. More notes at the end of chapter :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p>It was entirely pitch black. There was a faint ringing noise in the background and you relied on it to guide your way. Ringing.. what could be ringing? The familiar sound was not getting any closer, but you were determined to get to it. <em>Work.. ringing...</em></p><p>You bolted out of your sleeping position and quickly scanned around you. The light from your desk lamp was blinding for a second, but you blinked the sleepy tears away. You searched for the source of the sound that was no longer emitting the ringing noise.</p><p>“Shit,” you hissed quietly, your throat not being too happy at your choice to speak. You found your phone hidden amongst the pile of documents that you fell asleep on just a few hours before. You pulled aside your laptop that was also left open, the incomplete work waiting to be finished inside.</p><p>You finally retrieved your phone from the mess. You took a deep breath before clicking the button that would present you with your fears. You hoped it wasn’t them. Maybe it was just someone else, a wrong number perhaps? Anyone really. Your stomach suddenly dropped when you realized that neither of those possibilities could even happen. You had personally designed your phone to not receive any calls that weren’t from clients or.. <em>the agency.</em></p><p>Like a stubborn child that refused to eat their vegetables, you closed your eyes as soon as you clicked your phone on. Slowly you glanced at the screen.</p><p>
  <em>Missed call from Boss</em>
</p><p>You groaned out loud. After a few seconds (which really felt like hours if you were being honest) of opening and closing your eyes, you went to the missed calls section on your device. You gulped and clicked on the call back button before you could change your mind. It started to ring. That awful stupid ring-</p><p>
  <em>“Agent 306, you seem to have missed my previous call. You’re not starting to slack off on me now, are ya?”</em>
</p><p>The voice behind the call chuckled after their statement. You were frozen for what you hoped was just a second.</p><p>
  <em>“Haha... wait no! No aha, no of course not Ms Boss lady!”</em>
</p><p>You mentally cringed at your response. This was it. You were definitely done for. That was probably why she was calling you. Were you getting fired? Was your last report inadequate? You swore you read over the details many times.. Maybe you should’ve inspected the case more. Perhaps there was more people you should’ve looked into? Wait, could they even fire you? You knew too much.. no.. no they’d definitely get rid of you, they’d-</p><p>
  <em>“[MC] ?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Mm?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’re speaking out loud hun”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“...”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Right.. so I’d be glad to inform you that you are not being fired, though you are correct, we wouldn’t just be able to let you go that easily haha.. but that’s not the point. I actually called to give you a new assignment.”</em>
</p><p>You slightly tensed up. That caught your attention. A new assignment? You got assignments all the time, but never did you receive them directly from your boss. That was usually the assistant’s job, or the job of whoever you’d be conducting a case with. If she was calling, then it had to be serious. This made you feel even more guilty for not picking up earlier.</p><p><em>“An assignment?”</em> You asked, your timid emotions now forgotten.</p><p>
  <em>“Yes. I know you’re working on a different case right now, but this is one that you’ll be able to do at the same time; you’ll have a partner so it won’t be as tedious.. tell me, do you remember agent Vanderwood?”</em>
</p><p>You jogged your memories for a moment. Vanderwood? It definitely sounded familiar. <em>Vanderwood Vanderwood Vanderwood...ah!</em></p><p>Your mind seemed to have found a locked document. You remembered agent Vanderwood, though you didn’t know the guy much to be honest. He was well praised in the agency, maybe he wasn’t an elite, but he definitely seemed dedicated enough to get there. <em>That makes two of us, </em>you thought<em>.</em> You quickly dismissed your ambitious ideas remembering who was on the other line. You finally answered.</p><p>
  <em>“Yes, I do. Vanderwood is fairly known in the agency.”</em>
</p><p>There was slight shuffling noises of what you assumed were files being looked through on the other line.</p><p><em>“Ah that’s good.”</em> You heard a wood-like drawer close. <em>“I don’t believe you need much of an introduction in that case. You’re both on the fairly same level ya? I assume you two have talked before.”</em></p><p><em>“Well actually-“</em> you began to correct the misunderstanding. You didn’t talk to the other agents much, only when it was necessary for a case. This wasn’t an odd thing to do considering the secretive setting of the job, but you guessed that you were still kind of more on the reserved side. It wasn’t a job where you made friends, but knowing each other could be beneficial for certain assignments. You worked independently unless strictly paired up. This was mainly the reason why you always had so much work on your hands. You weren’t fond of the idea that you had to rely on someone else. Everyone that you worked with before always did their part, but you were afraid that wouldn’t always be the case.</p><p>Before you could continue to answer, you were cut off.</p><p><em>“Like I mentioned earlier, you will have a partner for this case. It’s a pretty last minute match, but our agent Vanderwood was called onto a different assignment. I already informed him that you would be taking over it. He should have sent you an email by now...”</em> her last word came out more slowly, so you figured something else must’ve caught her attention.</p><p><em>“Everything alright boss?”</em> You asked carefully, not wanting to intrude.</p><p><em>“.. damn it.. this idiot is going to be the death of me...”</em> you heard her hiss annoyingly.</p><p>You perked your eyebrows up slightly. You wondered who could’ve possibly annoyed the boss. She was usually relaxed, but definitely intimidating if you could even call her that. The thought of her sending someone to kill you without hesitation sent shivers down your spine. You had definitely heard rumors of all the “missing agents,” when you first joined. In a job like this, you guessed it shouldn’t have been surprising though.</p><p><em>“Oh, sorry about that.. actually [MC] I’m going to have to leave you there. I have to take care of.. a little bug”</em> you could somehow hear the fake smile on her face, making your eyes widen slightly; she was definitely annoyed by this individual.</p><p>
  <em>“-you should be good to go with the case once Vanderwood sends you the message with all the details. I’ll call to check in every now and then. I expect your very best, agent 306. I’ll leave ya to it.”</em>
</p><p>The call ended before you could dismiss yourself. You silently sighed before sitting up from your office-type chair. A few bones cracked at your movement and you groaned as you continued to stretch. You hadn’t moved from your desk in at least two days. <em>And now I have even more work..</em> You silently scoffed at the thought. No, you shouldn’t be complaining. This was your job. This was your life. This has been your life for many years now.</p><p>Your brain reactivated then, and sent you back to your workaholic tendencies. You started to look through your emails while you walked towards your small kitchen.</p><p>You lived in a small apartment, not really seeing why one person would need such a big living space. You could definitely afford one with the money you received, some agents you had worked with had even recommended nice hidden areas to live in, but you were never too interested. It’d feel too.. empty. You’d feel far more alone.</p><p>You got to your small kitchen island and leaned on it, still searching for the possible message.</p><p>Ah. You finally found it. You moved from the counter and started to prepare some coffee. Your eyes didn’t leave the screen, but you still managed to grab the coffee pot and your favorite (and only) mug without any trouble. It was an everyday routine at this point. <em>Coffee and wine..</em> what would you do without them?</p><p>
  <em>From: Agent Vanderwood</em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><em> Greetings, agent 306. I realize this message may be surprising and on a very short notice, but you have been assigned to take over my current case. I was told to inform you of the details. Surprisingly there isn’t much to go off of, we were assigned to find out more. I realize that you and I have a similar position, so you should already have a good idea on how to find more information. Anyways, this is all we know</em></li>
<li><em>The individual is about 20 years old, though his name is currently unknown</em></li>
<li><em>He was spotted lurking outside a new business company called Celestial<br/>
</em></li>
<li>
<em>The company has paid the agency to see if a rivaling business is trying to scoop dirt on them and stop them from growing; I believe</em> <em>my partner has already blocked many outlets in which important information could’ve been hacked</em>
</li>
<li><em>So now, you will need to find that individual and see if they are in any way related to a rivaling business; you should know what to do.<br/>
</em></li>
<li><em>That is all you need to know. I wish you luJGYDFY&amp;)8)67(7(;6@ha</em></li>
</ul><p>You raised your brows at the last statement. Had he dropped his phone? You continued to stare at it, warm coffee already in your hand. You set your mug on the counter and sat up on the stool. Once you were comfortably seated, you began to type a direct thank you, and ending with your alias <em>306</em>.</p><p>You set your phone down and slowly started to stir your coffee. The case sounded easy enough, though you could see why it’d be time consuming. It was to your understanding that your said partner was a specialist in hacking. You knew the basics to hacking, but you definitely weren’t the best in the agency. You had heard a lot of praise towards this one agent before.. he was already in the agency before you even arrived. He seemed like a big deal. Since he was there, there was never a high demand on hackers. He seemed to be able to solve every case.</p><p>It was because of this that you didn’t focus much on hacking. You didn’t think you’d be put on any assignments that required it. You still knew a bit though, through your own self- teachings. You found it could come in handy when you needed to find leads.</p><p>That’s where your job came in. You focused on the more open investigations. You’d be put to go to exact locations of an individual and spy on them. Cameras were great and all, but not every place had them. That meant a hacker would need someone who can investigate from the location.</p><p>Recently you had just been researching more on an individual before going outdoors. That’s what had created the pile of documents that were currently resting on your desk. They were a pain to go through, and you still hadn’t finished looking through them, but it had taken a lot of bribing for people to give them over.</p><p>
  <em>Well, If the hacker guy already eliminated the possibility of the individual stealing information.. then I really just need to go catch him in the act and the case should be over..</em>
</p><p>You got lost in your thoughts, but quickly came back to reality when your phone vibrated. You looked at the screen. Another email from Vanderwood.. you didn’t expect him to reply so soon, or at all to be honest. The previous message seemed to wrap up everything. You opened the message curiously.</p><p>
  <em>From agent Vanderwood</em>
</p>
<ul>
<li><em>Yes of course, I trust that you’ll be able to solve the case.</em></li>
<li><em> I actually forgot to mention something else, but it’s not necessarily about the case</em></li>
</ul><p>You wondered what else you had to do. You continued slowly reading, making sure you understood every word.</p>
<ul>
<li><em>Part of my job in the agency is to.. look after.. yes, look after my fellow partner. I have to check into his house everyday to ehh.. make sure he’s doing his work</em></li>
</ul><p>You were definitely getting more confused as you read further. What was he implying? You decided to just keep going.</p>
<ul>
<li><em>You know, imma just lay it out, it’s the least you deserve, since it’s a pretty.. frustrating part of my job</em></li>
</ul><p>He was definitely making you a bit worried. What was he implying? Did you have to look after some dead body? Search for some rare treasure when you got the chance? You read further down, and you would soon come to regret that decision</p>
<ul>
<li><em>My partner has.. issues. He’s very capable, don’t get too worried, but the agency has put me in charge of him. Since I will be gone for the next 3 weeks, the boss told me that my job would be passed down to you. Part of that job, is babysitting.. him..<br/>
</em></li>
<li><em>It is best if you go as soon as possible so that he actually does his work.. you will too be punished if you don’t get him to function</em></li>
<li><em>I wish you luck and.. oh, one more thing</em></li>
</ul><p>You really did not want to know anything more. If this was a joke, it was very unprofessional, but for some reason you believed him.</p>
<ul>
<li>
<em>one more thing- </em><em>bring an Arabic dictionary</em>
</li>
</ul><p>You looked below the message and saw the linked address of your new partner. Below that, there were three words written.</p>
<ul>
<li><em>I’m truly sorry</em></li>
</ul><p>And just as your eyes reached the end, you felt as if something truly nerve racking was about to begin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope at least one person reached the end lmao. I would love to hear feedback! It really does help me know where I can improve. I’m not sure how frequently I’ll update, but if I see many people enjoying the story, I will try my best to do it often. Get ready to meet our crackhead soon ;D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. O̵n̵ ̵y̵o̵u̵r̵ ̵w̵a̵y̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey, glad you stuck along for another chapter! There’s more character building in this one so you guys can understand [MC] better:)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Only 1/3 of the pile had been looked through. It had been around 8 hours since you found out about the new case you’d be taking.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">From that point, you had decided to just continue working on your current assignment. You kept checking your phone every couple of minutes to see if any new messages had been sent. You didn’t expect any new ones though, truthfully. It was something that you had realized when you saw the only response to your concerns.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After agent Vanderwood had sent the message informing you of your.. other task, you had decided to ask him more questions. He replied not much later, but only said that it was really hard to explain and that you’d have to see for yourself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed at the memory. You were definitely not satisfied with the answer. Even as an agent who specialized on solving cases by “seeing them for yourself,” you had never understood why agents kept things for later telling. Part of you thought that they were truly things that had to be kept secret, but another part of you (an overwhelming part of you) believed that these agents were just really cocky and liked feeling like they had control over something. The only reason you cut them some slack was because agents didn’t have much to be proud of. If holding a secret tape above their head made them feel some sort of pride, then you weren’t about to judge them for it (mainly since you could steal it from them quite easily, but that’s not the point)</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You guessed you could relate to them, well, a few of them. You didn’t particularly talk to your fellow comrades, but it was clear as day that they had all been through something that they surely wouldn’t wish upon anyone. It’s not that this didn’t apply to you, but most of them just seemed so.. </span> <em> <span class="s2">sad</span> </em> <span class="s1">. Sad that they lost their families, that they were forced to escape, to start a new life, that they could never afford to have close relationships..</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What separated you was fairly simple, you weren’t sad. Oh, you had definitely had your fair share of sad moments, but eventually, they just kind of left. You knew this wasn’t a good stage to have reached, but you didn’t complain. It seemed easier to work this job emotionlessly than either feeling like you’re drowning every second, or living with false happiness, having hope that one day it’d change-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">when it wouldn’t</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">That’s why you were determined. Even as you looked through the tedious amount of files, you were determined to do better. The only emotion that has been making an appearance recently was ambition. And ambition was neither a sad or a hopeless feeling..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">It was a drive.</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were about to begin looking through a new pile of documents when your phone lit up. “Finally have an answer for me?” you asked to no one that could actually hear you. You clicked at the screen and began to read. Even before you started scanning the words with your eyes, you noticed there wasn’t much written down. You mentally scoffed.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>From: agent Vanderwood </em> </span>
</p><ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Wow, you’re very persistent agent 306, though I guess it’s only fair for someone who’s job requires persuading </em></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Look, I really mean it when I say my partner is quite the case himself. But if you really want to see what I mean, come to the address tomorrow morning. That’s when I’ll be leaving. </em></span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>You know what, let’s put 10 dollars on the line. If you come and are still convinced that there’s a way to explain my poor excuse of a partner, then I’ll hand it to you. So how about it? </em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The change in attitude made your smirk. You had met weird people throughout your career, so you were sure you could handle one more. </span>
</p><ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Consider it a deal; I can buy myself many fish- shaped buns with that money</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sent the message, feeling somewhat less frustrated. At least you had that to look forward to. Though it made you wonder how bad this partner of his could really be. If the agency hadn’t gotten rid of him yet, then he couldn’t be too awful. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Your thoughts were interrupted by an angry growl from your stomach, causing you to sigh. </span> <em> <span class="s2">It’s because I mentioned the damn fish shaped buns..those freakin’ delicious fish shaped buns~ </span> </em> <span class="s1">You were really craving some now, but no, you would save your victory meal for tomorrow. Well that and it was already 9pm. </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So Instead, you decided to walk to the kitchen and grab yourself a dull granola bar. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When you were stepping back into your room (which was really just a wall and a turn away from the kitchen) you yawned harshly. You blinked your watery eyes slowly and continued your journey to your desk.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your body slightly shifted to the right, struggling to stay steady. You groaned. After a bit of consideration you decided that maybe you should catch some shut eye. After all, you didn’t want to seem too unprofessional when you met another, no two, agents tomorrow. You glanced at your unused bed and made your way to the corner of your room. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It had been a while since you actually slept in your bed. You had either a) not been sleeping b) been falling asleep on your work or c) been sleeping at hotels when your job required it. The last option was usually when you had to follow someone around. Or in some more, intrusive cases, when you had to spend time with the target. Even then, you didn’t really sleep. It was usually the easiest to get information at night. Plus, sleeping wasn’t always an enjoyable experience. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The longer you stared at your made bed, the more memories started to creep in. </span> <span class="s2"> <em>The last time I slept here, the nightmares weren’t too pleasant..</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You shook your head at the thoughts. If your mind wanted to continue to try to break you at your only time of rest, then so be it. You were getting sleep tonight and no stupid nightmare or memory would ruin it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You shifted the bed sheets and tucked yourself inside. You also made sure to set an alarm on your phone, though you knew you didn’t need one. You tended to wake up on instinct, but you could never be too secure.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As soon as you found a comfortable enough position, the motion sensors turned off the lights. You were quite proud of that installment, even if you never got the chance to truly enjoy it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It didn’t take long before you dozed off, your eyelids refusing to open even if you tried. You mentally prayed to any god that your dreams wouldn’t be too harsh.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">But you guessed they hadn’t been listening that night. You soon fell into a slumber of screams; </span> <span class="s2"> <em>your screams. </em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Alarm. You could hear the alarm. It was a distant and echoey sound, but you noticed it. So why were you still here? Why weren’t you waking up? You looked around and found nothing but more darkness. There wasn’t a light switch. This place never had a source of light. That’s why you came here. She couldn’t find you if you were here. She never liked the dark. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>The alarm sound was overruled by her voice. “Stop,” you said quietly, though it echoed in your head. But her voice was still there.. her voice. It was becoming more clear, more real. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Come out already [MC], you know I don’t like the dark” you could hear her pout.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"> <em>“Come and see the light, we can both see the light, don’t be scared~”</em> </span> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>After she said that, a rectangle type of shape started to bend. It bent in a way that was slowly emitting light. She was opening the door. The light from outside was starting to enter. She wasn’t supposed to do that. She didn’t like the dark. Why was she opening the door? </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You started to run. But only a few steps in and you bumped into a wall. You couldn’t escape. You were in a dead end. You ran in all different directions only to find something in your way. The walls were moving closer, until you no longer had a chance to avoid her, to avoid her figure. The silhouette of a hand reached down to you. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“[MC] stop running away. Come see the light~” To anyone else that might have sounded like a loving mother’s voice, but to you, to you it was cold and filled with lies. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"> <em>You reached out to grab her hand, only that it was no longer your hand. It was the hand of a child. It was you as a child. And this was no longer a dream, but a memory that you thought you had locked away.</em> </span> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Don’t go,” you whimpered. You tried to stop the girl but she walked away. When she reached the door, she turned around. You could only see the shadows of her face due to the darkness, but you knew she was looking at you. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Wake up,” she said.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You stared at her peculiarly. “What?”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Wake up [MC]” her arm was being tugged by your mother, but she resisted. </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"> <em>“Wake up [MC]!” She couldn’t keep resisting the pull of your mother. </em> </span> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“This is just a dream. Wake up [MC], WAKE UP!” </em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Just as her last screams echoed in your head, the door snapped closed and your eyes snapped open.</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You woke up with a bolt. Your breathing was uneven and your face was full of sweat. You found enough strength to sit up and stayed in that position for a few seconds. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You then grabbed your phone and checked the time. The alarm had gone off, but only about two minutes ago. The sun was already out, but it was still fairly early. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was no use sitting around any longer. You were already used to this. It didn’t usually happen when you took naps, but when you actually intended to sleep, it could become quite hectic. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You set your feet off the bed and looked over at the monster that had all your clothing stuffed inside. You definitely believed that any mom would have a heart attack looking at the mess that lay in there. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It’s not like you could help it. You had a lot of clothing due to the constant need of disguises. It always became a problem when you had to find something specific though, like today.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You groaned and stood up, tiredly walking towards the clothes that would only get fixed by some miracle. You had to look professional. Today you would probably just gather up the information that Vanderwood and your new partner had acquired, so you wouldn’t be needing any disguises. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After shuffling through clothing for what you believed was 10 minutes, you finally had yourself a decent outfit. You had gone with the professional mindset and picked out a black pencil skirt with a long, white sleeved blouse. You almost added a neck tie to the fit, but decided against it. You wanted to look professional, not scary. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You got into your clothing after taking a quick shower, which you desperately needed. You were thankful that the fresh water also seemed to loosen your sleepy state. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your short heels clanked against the floor as you walked out of the apartment. You locked the door with its key, then glanced to your sides to check if there was anyone around. When you saw no one, you clicked the key frame of the door knob, making it spark a faint blue light.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Activate new password: fish-shaped buns 86” you spoke to it. The light flashed for a few seconds before confirming the change. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"> <em>“Password: fish-shaped buns 86 has been successfully activated” </em> </span> <span class="s1">it’s robotic voice finally said. You nodded and started making your way to the elevator. </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had gotten tired of the elevator music whenever you had to use it, so you had decided to change the audio programming a while back. You don’t remember it too clearly, so it was probably after you had consumed a bit too much wine. Now being in the elevator, you decided you didn’t regret your decision. You had probably done a favor for the other residents too. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You softly hummed to the song currently playing until you were finally on the last floor. You lived on the 4th floor of the building, so it didn’t take long. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once outside the building, you checked your phone for the address that Vanderwood had sent in the first message. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You didn’t really feel like taking a cab, but driving to the location everyday could get you spotted by potential enemies. You would also need to be careful with which routes you took to get there. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before calling up a ride, you decided that you wanted to be more prideful and buy some fish-shaped buns. You’d get the money back anyways once you won the challenge against Vanderwood.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Luckily for you, an old man always stationed his post two blocks away from your apartment, so you didn’t have to walk far whenever you were craving the delicious food. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You arrived at the post and the man chuckled at you with a smile. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“3 fish shaped buns like always?” He asked. It was usually what you ordered for yourself. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No,” your replied, returning the smile. “I’ll actually be taking 6 today.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He chuckled again. “More hungry than usual eh?” His voice was more distant now since he was picking out your order. Your face flushed at the misunderstanding and you quickly corrected yourself like those embarrassed school girls always did in shows.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah, no! I have an- meeting, so others- other people will be there. I’m bringing some for them,” you managed to ramble out. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finally set your order on the counter, now wrapped safely in a bag. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m just teasing ya,” he spoke. “Plus we both know that eating these fishies tastes best when warm, I doubt you’d waste ‘em.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You grinned at the man and handed him the money, placing a few extra bills as a tip. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Thank you for the delicious food, I’m barely resisting from eating them all,” you told him honestly. “I actually need to call a cab, so I’ll hang around here for a few minutes.” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah I see. Judging from your clothes I guess you’re going to quite an important meeting.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had seated yourself at nearby bench now. “Yeah I guess you could say that,” you replied to his statement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You pulled out your phone and started calling for a ride. While on dial, the man turned his attention to a passerby and his face brightened up. He was quite a cheerful person. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah if it isn’t my second favorite customer,” he laughed, already going inside his food truck to get the order. The other person seemed to laugh at the statement and you noticed it was another man. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Someone finally picked up on the other line and asked for the details of your location. “Oh yes, i’m in-“ As soon as you spoke, your eyes wandered to the customer who was laughing with the seller. He had looked around at you for a second and your face completely flushed. You were absolutely awestruck: </span> <span class="s2"> <em>He was gorgeous!</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked away from him and quickly apologized to the user on the other phone line, finishing giving him directions. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Oh I’m sorry if I distracted you,” a new voice came forward. </span> <span class="s2"> <em>Even his voice is gorgeous! </em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You reluctantly looked back up. You barely managed to keep eye contact without squirming. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His eyes were red and his hair was white, complementing his pale skin. “Ah it’s ok,” you finally managed to speak out. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh, still, i feel a bit embarrassed; I distract people a lot it seems. It’s just the old man here was telling me who his favorite customer was. I got curious since I didn’t think there was someone more devoted to this post than me~” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He smiled after his statement and your breath hitched. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You giggled since it was all you could manage to do without further embarrassment. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh well look at that, I have rehearsals soon, so I must get going. I hope to see you around,” the man said, but not before dismissing you with a wink. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You nervously laughed, though it sounded more like a choke. </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Bye Zen~” the old man called out as the stranger walked away.</span> <span class="s2"> <em>Zen..</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The old man turned around to look back at you and was clearly amused by your reactions towards the stranger. “The boy comes here a lot, I’m surprised you’ve never ran into him,” he said. “Still, I’ve never seen someone more obsessed with my fish-shaped buns than you,” he chuckled at that, making you flush for who knows how many times that morning. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At that moment you got a text from your ride saying that they hard arrived. You breathed a sigh of relief and dismissed yourself from the post. Too many things had happened already. You just hoped that the meeting with the agents would be professional and solely work related. You were afraid your face would permanently stay red from constant embarrassment. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You arrived at the cab which was parked a block away. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh hey, I need you to take me to this location,” you said once inside, showing the driver the address on your phone. You placed the bag with the buns on the empty seat next to you and put on your seat belt. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sure thing,” he said simply, and the car started moving. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">And just like that, you were on your way to meet your new partner. It should’ve been an easy enough job, but you would come to laugh at that thought just a few hours later. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Am sorry that you couldn’t meet Seven, but next chapter will jump right into the fun. I promise things are about to get chaotic, so put on your seatbelts 👀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I̵t̵’̵s̵ ̵o̵n̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And so it begins...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You regretted resting your head against the window. You went through all those physical tests at the agency and yet you still weren’t immune to muscle cramps. Especially your neck, which was being tested this very moment.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You glared out the window as to curse the world for your decision at bad posture. You internally cried at the fact that you’d soon have to move your position and face the cramp head on (</span> <span class="s2"><em>or was it neck on?</em>)</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cringed at your own thoughts, not hearing the little ding from your phone. You only realized you had gotten a new message due to the vibration in your pocket.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The slight vibration made you jump; an action that you regretted right after.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Damn it!” You hissed as your neck cracked a very unpleasant sound.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The driver glanced at the back seat through the rear view mirror. You offered an innocent yet fairly dangerous smile. It seemed to do the trick since he quickly looked back at the road.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You breathed a sigh and pulled out your phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">From: Agent Vanderwood </span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Hey you almost here? I’m leaving in a couple of minutes. I am not a patient person so please don’t keep me waiting</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced at the gps on your phone. You were closer than you had initially thought. You proceeded to text back. If the agent was impatient you doubted he was fond of not receiving a response.</span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Yeah I’ll get there in about 5 minutes. You have the 10 bucks ready for me I hope?</em> </span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The message reminded you of the fish-shaped buns sitting next to you. As if on cue, your stomach growled. Not eating the little fellas was proving to be a challenge. You phone dinged again.</span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">You may be all confident now, but when you see the clown you’ll be dealing with, you’ll eat up your words</span></em></li>
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Well I’ll be waiting outside the gate, it seems you’re only 2 minutes away now. See you soon </span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You weren’t surprised that he was able to locate you. You were however, feeling confident in your bet. You just wanted to see the agents’ face when he saw how much of a good handler you could be. </span> <em> <span class="s2">10 bucks for me..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You huffed at your thoughts. You didn’t usually get to express yourself with other agents. It was always straight to business, as it should be of course. But still, the whole bet scenario had definitely sparked your interest. It was a challenge after all.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“We’re here miss,” the driver said as he parked the car in what looked like the middle of nowhere. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Fairly private area he lives in..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh thank you..” you scavenged your bag for the cash. “Ah, here,” you handed him the respectable money.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You gathered your things and opened the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You sure it’s here miss? There aren’t any buildings or houses around,” the driver called back as you got out of the vehicle. You closed the door.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes I’m sure. My friend.. she’s just really shy, lives all alone, poor thing~,” you said, delivering a slight giggle at the end of yourstatement. Some would even call it seductive.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The driver paused for a second, seemingly flustered. Oh the effect that a single giggle could have... your previous targets had certainly experienced the consequences to that one.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh- uh.. well I’ll get going mis- ma’am; have fun,” the driver finally spoke and started driving away.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You smiled at the car until it was out of view. You dropped your face in a flash and started to look around for the supposed gate.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had to hand it to the agent, it was a secure area, any by-passer wouldn’t notice a thing. You walked around to a set off tall bushes and sure enough, there was a pathway leading to a door step.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Immediately you caught sight of a man leaning against the doorway. Or was it a gate? You weren’t sure, but It looked like the entrance to the house.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent looked up. He seemed to have been reading off of a book.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">He wore a black coat with a purple collar. Even from afar you could tell the man was well-</span> <span class="s1">built. He definitely took part in active missions.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Took you long enough 306,” he spoke first.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sorry Vanderwood, I simply couldn’t resist buying my precious prize,” you replied with a challenging smirk, lifting the bag with fish-shaped buns.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He returned the smirk and looked down at the book he was previously reading. You noticed there was a notecard in between the pages.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This is the passcode to enter. This idiot changes it everyday so you’ll need to carry an Arabic dictionary with you. I’d lend you mine but I know he’ll lock me out if he finds out I no longer have it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent’s voice lowered after mentioning his partner. They seemed to have an interesting relationship just from that statement alone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He picked out the notecard and closed the dictionary.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I’ll open it just so you can see. I will warn you though, he isn’t very professional with his passwords.” His eye twitched at the last bit and you couldn’t help but laugh. Vanderwood glared at your reaction and it made you shut up immediately. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Definitely don’t wanna get on his bad side..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked back at the door and cleared his throat.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yuhibu fandi sbe”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You choked on nothing but air at what he said, running into a fit of giggles right after.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood looked at you in confusion and you tried to calm your laughing. Eventually you controlled yourself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Vandy loves Seven?” You translated what he had said. It took your full training as an agent to not burst out laughing again. You weren’t even sure what the “Seven” was referring to, but the nickname alone was enough to set you off.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh? You understand Arabic?” He asked surprised, but his tone also carried a tinge of annoyance.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Yeah, I had to learn some basics for a mission..” you looked up at the agent teasingly “wait so is your nickname Vandy?” You couldn’t stop yourself from asking. The visible anger in his reaction kickstarted your laughing again. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Someone so intimidating is nicknamed such an innocent pet name...</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked back at Vanderwood and once again shut up on sight. He did not look like he’d hesitate to kill you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re laughing now, but soon you’ll face the wrath of this demon..” he muttered angrily.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were about to speak up when there was a hum of disapproval coming from behind Vanderwood. The look on the brunette agent’s face seemed to only darken at the sound.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Tsk tsk tsk, Mary Vanderwood 3rd. We don’t treat our guests in such a manner. I thought we had talked about this.. Was It not on page 7 of ‘How to be a perfect housewife?’”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You couldn’t see the owner of the voice since Vanderwood was still in front of the (now opened) door. You were more concerned with the growing rage on the agent’s face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Now now Vandy, getting mad isn’t good for your ski-“ the voice stopped for a few seconds. “Is that- could it be?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood was then shoved to the side by the other figure.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey you jerk-!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The figure ignored the other agent’s fit and you were finally able to see the hacker’s face.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The first thing you noticed were his bright golden eyes. If you inspected deeper you could see the shadows of sleepless nights lurking under them. He also had unusual red hair and very strange glasses. </span> <span class="s2">Strange. <em>Is he undercover as a cartoon character or something?</em></span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finally spoke to you. Or at least you thought he was speaking to you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ahh it smells delicious~”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You immediately stiffened at the statement. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Delicious? This pervert-!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood seemed to voice your thoughts for you</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wha-? You perv! And you were saying that I was bad with guests?!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The redhead turned his head towards the agent in confusion.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ms. Vanderwood what do you- AGGGGAH”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent stepped away from Vanderwood, who you noticed was now holding a taser.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait wait wait wait- there’s a misunderstanding! I, 707, the Defender of Justice would never act so rudely to a lady~!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent proceeded to turn around and finally look at you. He had a childish smile on his face.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">He moved closer and then fell on his knees in front of you. </span> <em> <span class="s2">What is he doing?!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked up from his position on the ground and clashed his hands together as if he were praying.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Please forgive me if I, or my assistant Mary Vanderwood, offended you in any way..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood visibly groaned at the mention of his name but the redhead kept going. Saying you were confused would be an understatement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“-I would never say such things about a woman as my assistant here blindly suggested. I am very much sorry for her behavior, I realize you are just trying to do your job as a delivery girl...I swear, there’s no respect in the industry anymore, it must be hard...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Your job as a delivery girl?.. industry?</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well,” he started to get into a standing position, “I’m sorry for the misunderstanding madam, how much will it be?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your eye twitched. Did he not realize that you were an agent? More specifically, the agent that was going to help him? How would he not be informed by now? Did the outfit not look presentable enough?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood seemed to speak for you again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Delivery girl?! Seven you idiot- I told you several times that a new agent was coming in my place! Were you not listening?!”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The guy whose name appeared to be Seven (</span> <em> <span class="s2">was that some sort of alias?</span> </em> <span class="s1">) looked like he was in deep thought.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finally came to a conclusion, “Ah Ms. Vanderwood, I ignore 97.5% of what you say~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Anyways,” he looked back at you, “I appreciate the agency’s concern over the case, but I don’t believe I’ll be needing any assistance.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scoffed at his statement. Did he not think you were capable enough? Was he doubting your skills? Hell if you were going to let him get away with it. You had solved every case given to you. You weren’t about to let him say-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You blinked out of your thoughts at the slight movement coming from your left arm.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’ll gladly be adopting this beloved fish-shaped family. Thank you for your services agent, please do keep up the good work!~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This stranger was not only insulting your work, but now he was stealing your lunch too? Who in the hell had the audacity?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You pulled back your arm, causing the redhead to stumble forward. Before he could trip and fall on top of you, you moved out of the way. The agent fell on his face with a groan.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Owwwwwwie! So mean!! I just wanted to adopt the poor family; they’ve been suffocating in that bag for who knows how long!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You gritted your teeth. Before you could go up to the hacker to give him a piece of your mind, a hand landed on your shoulder from behind.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned to be faced with Vanderwood’s brown eyes again. He sighed.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“As much as you want to kill him, it’s not worth the time. He really is a pain..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He started walking to Seven who was now sitting on the ground, still rambling about a fish family.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood grabbed onto the other agent’s collar and pulled him up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey! This is a very sensitive fabric, don’t pull on it Ms. Vanderw-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent let go once he was upright and cut him off. If you weren’t so mad yourself, you would even find this entertaining. All you could see was red.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m leaving for 3 weeks on a mission and I better not hear any complaints from the agency. You already know what happens if you don’t do your work..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“-Yeah yeah, they’ll rip off my limbs and bury them in different countries etc etc”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood glared at him. “Take this more seriously damn it! Both of our lives are on the line; and now this agent’s too,” he pointed at you. The redhead looked over at your direction and smiled. You made sure to respond with a glare that stared into his soul. His face went pale so you assumed it got the point across.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Agent 306 will be here to help you with the case. I already caught her up on all the basics. It shouldn’t be hard so don’t make it harder than it is!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He turned back to you and let out a long sigh. “I’m very sorry you have to deal with him. But here-“ he handed you a black object. You quickly realized what it was and raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“A taser. It always does the trick. If he’s too stubborn for even that, give me a call. There’s other things that I’m sure will get his attention.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He really is that bad huh?” You asked the agent, looking over at the redhead that seemed to be distracted on his phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, to be honest he wasn’t always this way. I think he might’ve gotten possessed at some point...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But anyways, he’s surprisingly a genius despite how he may come off. It’s not an excuse to not give him a little scare when he’s too much of a trouble though. Believe me, it is very satisfying when he actually does his work.” </span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The other agent was still distracted on his phone, so you doubted he was listening to your current conversation. </span> <em> <span class="s2">He really doesn’t care...</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood handed you a piece of the notecard he had earlier. The only difference was the phone number written on it. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I told you I had to get going soon, so I’ll leave you with this. I’ll be really busy with the mission, but if this guy gets too stubborn, he could be jeopardizing our lives. Give me a call if you have questions. I wish you luck, you’ll definitely need it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With that he started walking away from the door. Only then did the other agent look away from his phone. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No! Vandy don’t leave!!! Who’s going to keep my house clean?! I can’t hire another maid, you know how secretive this job is!” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood was clearly fighting back a scream. Instead of responding he just elbowed the agent in the stomach. It seemed to calm him down, so you mentally made a note for future reference. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced at the redhead as Vanderwood walked away. He was snickering at his phone while typing inhumanly fast. You felt bad for whoever was on the other end of that text...<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked back at Vanderwood and started tapping your feet. You hated the decision you were about to make. The tapping noise coming from the redhead’s phone mixed with the sound of Vanderwood’s distant footsteps. <em>Were you already going insane?!</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">You called out his name, but not without nodding to yourself as to confirm that this is something you needed to do. </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait, Vanderwood!” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The agent turned around to face you, confused. You caught up to him and pulled something out of your bag. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You won,” you said simply. You didn’t want to admit it, but fair was fair.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The other agent frowned for a second, but his expression quickly changed into a smirk when he realized what you meant. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He took the 10 dollars from your hand which you reluctantly let go of.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Man, this was some easy cash..” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked away with a pout, about to start walking back into the hell that awaited.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If your new partner was always acting how he did this morning, you weren’t sure you’d come out of this mission sane. Was Vanderwood even sane?<br/>
</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced at the taser he had handed you a few moments earlier. That just about answered your mental question. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I propose a new challenge 306,” the agent’s voice stopped you in your tracks.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How much time will you need to solve the case? I’ll be gone for 3 weeks. This gives you what, 21 days with the idiot?” He nodded at the redhead who was still standing by the door. You shivered at the mention of him. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, what if each day counts as 10 bucks ,eh? You have to pay me the amount that it takes to finish it. I’ll pay you back with the amount of days you didn’t need. 210 dollars in total. What do you say?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were surprised at his sudden offer. Maybe if money was involved.. you’d have a bigger motivator to end the case as soon as possible. You were curious as to why this man was so interested in money. Did he think you didn’t have it in you? Did he really think it’d be that easy to earn your money?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">No, you’d prove him wrong. You’d prove the other agent wrong too. You weren’t just anybody, you were an extremely capable asset!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You let out a soft chuckle, which immediately changed into a challenging glare. The quick mood swing made Vanderwood stiffen in place. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s on,” you said in a low voice, and walked back to the doorway without waiting for his response.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>You finally met the crackhead! You might even end up wanting to crack his head haha... Anyways I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I’m trying to update frequently, so let’s see how that goes~ Feedback is definitely appreciated and always fun to read! I wanna know what’s on everyone’s mind :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. T̵h̵i̵s̵ ̵i̵s̵ ̵g̵o̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵t̵o̵ ̵b̵e̵ ̵h̵e̵l̵l̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Reader tries the #try-not-to-murder-my partner-challenge</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The redhead had already vanished from the entrance, but thankfully the door remained opened. You noticed as you walked further that you were no longer carrying the fish-shaped buns. This sent an instant alarm in your head. You had probably put them down before walking towards Vanderwood, which meant-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">No!</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You dropped your bag and speed walked inside the house with rage</span>, not taking your time to look at your surroundings. You were acting like a mother that just lost her children. You needed to find them!</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You finally turned the right direction. There he was, sitting on a chair with his back facing your way. You growled.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Where are they?” You demanded to the back of his head. His headphones where still hanging around his neck, so you knew he could hear you clearly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You squinted your eyes and took a step further.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I asked you, where are the-!” Before you could walk more dangerously closer to the hacker (dangerously for him, that is) he turned his chair around to face you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your reaction was one of shock. The sight alone was enough to give you nightmares. It was the sight that you would see on tv when those flashback episodes came on about a character’s dark past. It was dreadful and... gruesome.. somehow?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The hacker licked his fingers from the remains of the poor bun, acting completely oblivious to your reaction.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How could you?” You asked dumbfounded. The hacker finally turned his attention to you, still not changing his expression.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” He finally spoke. He reached into the bag that contained the buns and your eye did an unnatural twitch.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before he could bite into the poor fish-shaped bun, you quickly made your way towards the criminal and smacked it out of his hands.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“OW- HEY!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The bun fell to the ground, but as it landed in what looked like slow motion, you could feel the gratitude radiating from it. It was thankful; you had saved it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned your attention to the bickering hacker, though the look you gave him quickly shut him up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Without saying anything, you grabbed the plastic bag which was, as you had assumed, empty. You then stared down at the mess that had high quantities of nightmare fuel.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The buns were not completely eaten. There was a bite in the belly, but the filling was gone and sucked out. All that was left was the bread. Surrounding the bodies of the fish-shaped buns were crumbs and </span>small spills of the filling.</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The hacker noticed your increasing rage and started speaking.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ok ok, I’m sorry I ate your food, but I couldn’t help it! They were calling for me. They wanted this!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You gave him the most forced smile you could manage.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well you see,” you started talking, slowly leaning towards him with a fake nice attitude. “Not only did you eat my lunch~” you gently put a hand on his shoulder, visibly making him hold his breath; you kept going. “But you also~” you had moved down to his ear level and whispered the words. He was definitely starting to struggle holding his breath.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">At the right moment, you moved your face to be at a very close proximity from his, giving him one last forced smile.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But you also SOMEHOW MANAGED TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE A MASS BUN GENOCIDE! YOU DIDN’T EVEN EAT THEM PROPERLY! HOW CAN ONE BE SO WASTEFUL AND MALICIOUS TOWARDS FOOD?!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had grabbed onto his collar and yelled at his face. It got him off guard, just as you planned, so he didn’t have the chance to move from his place.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait! Agh!-“ the redhead struggled to move from your clutches and was visibly getting dizzy from the shaking.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You ignored his restraint, but froze when your pocket vibrated. It vibrated again, so you realized it was a call.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You reluctantly let go of the hacker’s collar, but not without a loud sigh.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Whoever was calling you at this moment might have also been the savior to your annoying, new partner.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You pulled out your phone, not having enough care to look at who was calling. You swiped to answer the call.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">“Hello?”</span> </em> <span class="s1">You answered first, saying the word so carelessly, as if your parent had forced you to make a phone call that you couldn’t give two shits about. An uninterested teenager attitude, to put it simply.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You would regret that in 1.. 2... 3..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Ah 306, I’m glad you actually answered this time. But oh my, it seems like at a wrong time? Don’t tell me you want to set up an appointment next time?”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your eyes widened like a deer caught in the headlights. You pulled your phone away from your ear and sure enough, the name of the contact was no other than..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“I- Ms. Boss-! Wait no, Ms lady boss- agh!- Ma’am, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t expecting a call! My sincere apologies-“</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You spoke as if your life depended on it, and that was honestly not an exaggeration.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was a laugh on the other line, which didn’t make you feel any more relieved; if anything, it was unsettling.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This was it, you were going to die. This was the second strike in the same week. Would you get sent to live in a desert? Sent to prison at a military base? No, no, there was probably a hit man already here.. this was probably all just a set up-!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Agent?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">All your work and you were going to die for something blatantly irresponsible-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Agent 306?...”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What a sad way to die.. to die hungry.. you hadn’t even been able to die with fish-shaped buns digesting in your stomach...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“AGENT!-“</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You blinked a couple times and you realized there was no longer a voice coming from your phone. Had she hung up?</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You removed your hand from your ear, only to find that it was empty. </span> <span class="s2"><em>My phone</em>... </span> <span class="s1">wait, where the hell was your phone?</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh If it isn’t my favorite Boss!~ Tell me Ms Boss, have you been practicing your vocals lately? Those screams from the end of the line were very in tune; you’re naturally gifted!”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You turned to the source of the voice, which also happened to be talking to someone over the phone.. </span> <em> <span class="s2">your phone.</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You connected the dots which instantly ignited fear and rage altogether. The stupid hacker was jeopardizing your 5.5% chance of survival!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You heard frustrated yelling coming from the phone. The redhead moved the device away from his ear as if it were about to bite him.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah! Yeah, that’s the screaming I was referring to!~” He said it in a mixture of sarcasm and fear.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your partner was standing a few steps away. When he finally had the audacity to look at you, his face paled faster than a dead body (you would know, since you had seen your fair share of them)</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You cracked your knuckles and started moving towards him, your hair covering your face, certainly making you look like the killer in a horror film. </span> <span class="s2"><em>Good</em>.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The boss was still cursing at the hacker from the other end of the call. He immediately reacted to your nearing proximity.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah!- Ms Boss- I would love to continue listening to your tune but,” he made inaudible noises as if losing reception, “the connection is a bit off today! I’m lo- losing you!-“ He finished it off with more sounds and quickly ended the call.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He had looked away from you when ending the call, so when he turned back to see you standing right behind him, you knew the agent had lost one of his nine lives.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah! Ms, you can certainly be a bit scary~!” He tried to muster a laugh, but ultimately came out as choke.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You extended your hand and he clumsily returned your phone. You placed it back into your pocket while the redhead mumbled what seemed to be prayers.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You returned your attention to him once your device was back to its respectable place. You realized then that you were still holding another item on your other hand. Many dark ideas flew into your head. You finally spoke.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Give me one reason,” the redhead looked back at you when he heard your voice.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“One reason why,” you lifted the item on your other hand; it was plastic bag that once contained the fish-shaped buns. The reminder of your lost food made you angrier.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His eyes followed your movement, making him gulp when he realized what you were implying.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“.. I shouldn’t do humanity a favor and strangle you with this bag right now.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked him straight in the eyes and he could see that there was no humor in them. You would definitely kill him with no hesitation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wow, ok, what if we just relax a little, alright?~” he tried to ease the tension but you only moved your hand forward.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“OK OK! I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me! I know this all doesn’t look too convenient, but the boss isn’t going to kill you [MC]!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You raised your eyebrows, surprised that he had called you by your real name. Agents never called each other by their real names... Wait, how did he even know your name?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before you could say anything, the agent got on his knees. You groaned at the memory from that same day, when he had already done this act.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The boss isn’t going to do anything, they can’t do this case without me; I’m too valuable!” He flinched when he noticed how you reacted to his words. Your hand definitely gripped the bag more strongly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wait! But you too! You’re valuable too! They won’t just get rid of us!” He proceeded to grab your hands with his own, and you immediately reacted to the contact.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey!-“ He ignored your pulling, and you were surprised that he could hold a strong grip.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He suddenly stopped muttering, but didn’t let go of your hands. He was looking down at the ground, but you caught a glint in his eye, not one with good intentions. This was confirmed when you saw the smirk that was painted on his face.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You-“ you started to pull again since you had no idea what type of idiocy he was up to, but he then looked up. Somehow, the look he gave you made you feel like you had already lost.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But agent,” he started speaking in an annoyingly teasing voice. “How are you going to win the challenge against Vanderwood if you give up so soon?~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You flinched. He wasn’t even outside when that happened, how did he know about that?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You once again tried to speak, but he read your mind. “It doesn’t matter how I know. The real wonder is how wide Vanderwood’s smile is going to be once he sees how he won.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your glare remained, but you stopped resisting. The idiot had a point.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I mean, it’s a two fish with one dish situation,” he said. You gave him a puzzled look. “I don’t think that’s how it-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He cut you off again, for who knows how many times that day. “Vanderwood isn’t very fond of me, I don’t know how since I’m an angel~ but I’m sure he’d be more than satisfied to hear of my tragic end. And well, to top it off, he gets to win a challenge that he happened to make with you... Tell me agent, are you going to lose so easily? Are you going to let Ms Vanderwood dance on our graves?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finally let go of you and stood up from the ground. He proceeded to walk past you and sat back at his desk like nothing had happened. All you did was glare back at his figure.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You noticed two things then. 1) He must have these arguments with Vanderwood fairly often and 2) The annoying smirk was still on his face. He already knew how to make you budge. He was treating you like a computer.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed. You didn’t want to give in, but you couldn’t face the thought of failing, especially on the first day. You were capable! That’s why the agency put you to deal with such a hard partner; this was just another training course!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You tightened your grip on the bag one more time, but reluctantly let go. You walked towards the redhead.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How far have you gotten?” The hacker looked up at your voice. He smiled, knowing that he had won the argument. You tried to ignore the urge to choke him right then and there.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hm?” He was clearly distracted, but you kept going.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How far have you gotten with the case?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh? What case?” He asked, no longer looking at you, but at his phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If your head wasn’t blowing steam like typical cartoons portrayed, you’d be surprised.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The case that we’re doing obviously-!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ooooo, that one!” You rolled your eyes at his exaggerated response.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah about that,” he started saying. “There’s actually a tiny, little, small problem.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You rubbed your temple, completely done with this human, and day altogether.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What problem?” You dared to ask.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“See, I was able to remove most access to the servers, but there’s one I can’t get through unless I’m in the building.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed, “which means that you’re going to have to come to the location with me..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yep! I know you’d miss me if I wasn’t there~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scoffed, but chose to ignore him. It was probably better for your sanity to just ignore.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The silence started to grow after that and so did your frustration. Usually you were ok with silence, but you were here to do work. You started to tap your foot, something you did when your patience ran low.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Just like earlier, the sounds of the hacker typing away on his phone combined with the tapping of your foot. It was getting unbearable. You didn’t know if it was because you were breathing the same air as your partner, or because you were in a workaholic mood. It was probably a mix of both.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took a deep breath and went back into the war zone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What else do you know?” You asked.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hm? Aboutwhat?” He said (well, “muttered” would be the better way of putting it)</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took another deep breath to calm you down. It only had about 1% of effect, but that was enough to stop you from having to clean up a body.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“The case... what else do you know about the-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hold up a sec agent,” he spoke before you could finish, turning his chair away from you. He snickered while typing on his phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey! Are u ignoring me?! I’ll have you know-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were about to deliver a fairly educational resume, but he suddenly put his phone down and turned his attention back at you. This change in his attitude was unexpected.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Change of heart I see?” You said teasingly, believing that he had finally understood your value. But this was the final confirmation that you were in fact, wrong.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Nah, chat ended, got bored. What is it you were saying madam?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your eye twitched. You were sure it was going to pop out someday.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I was asking what else you know about the case!!” You then registered the end of his sentence which only irritated you more. “Also don’t call me madam, I’m not old!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He raised an eyebrow and then turned his chair to face his desk. “I believe you on the appearance, but ma’am that personality screams, ‘I’m a divorced 30 year old!’ I’d say you’ve seen better days~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was no line to this guy. He just jumped right over it like it was nothing. You chose not to comment on his review about your age, but that didn’t stop your body from shaking in anger.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Anyways about the case,” he spoke while browsing something on one of his many computers.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I have been checking the cameras outside the company Celestial, but it seems one of them has been modified.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your anger faded when you sensed the topic of work being brought up. You moved closer to his computer, which now showed footage recorded from a security camera.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Modified?” You asked for further explanation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, I hadn’t noticed until yesterday that this footage was not live. It’s been on repeat for a while now. Someone hacked into the security system of the company, but for some reason, they only modified this one camera.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Then they must be planning to enter the building from that area?” You questioned out loud.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sighed. “Yeah that’s what I thought at first, but I checked the blueprints and there was no type of breach or entree there. I haven’t been able to go check in person though.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You hummed in thought. Why would someone hack into a security system but only modify one camera?... A realization sparked in you, but one that you’d have to look into.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“They know you’re tracking them,” you said.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What?” He glanced at you in question.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“They must already know.. they must have a plan calculated already. Tell me, were you keeping track of this camera the least?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He seemed to think about it. He finally came to a conclusion. “Technically speaking, I guess I was more focused on the entrances and alleyways. I didn’t think there to be a reason for someone to go through this particular area.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This confirmed your thoughts. They were aware that they were being tracked. Usually someone would make a clumsy mistake, but they seemed to know what they were doing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This company Celestial, what do you think they would want from there anyways?” You asked. You hadn’t actually looked into what the business was about. Vanderwood had mentioned on the first text that it was fairly new, but that’s about all you had knowledge of.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Mm, I had already questioned that.. the company had said it was probably a rivaling business, but I’m not too sure about it, especially considering that they only sell teapots...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh? Teapots?” You were puzzled. You couldn’t think of a reason why someone would want to steal information from a teapot company... what exactly could they steal from that? You could really only steal designs, but would they even need to hack in order to do that?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah, I was surprised too, especially since there are no other companies in this area that are based around teapots.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You moved away from the computer and sighed. This wasn’t such a straightforward case after all. You’d have to start researching right away.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You walked to a desk that was across the room and seated yourself. This would have to be your workstation for the meantime. You looked around for your bag, but realized that you hadn’t been carrying it around. You groaned. You must’ve left it outside. You were really being careless today. That idiot was a big distraction.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Before you made your way to the door, the hacker called out to you. “You looking for this?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned around to see his filthy hands on your bag. Who gave him the right-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Wow wow, I see that deadly look in your eyes is coming back Ms, but how could you not have noticed this missing earlier? I’d say it’s your fault for being so careless~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stomped your way back towards him and reached for the bag, which he moved away last second. He immediately regretted this action when you pulled out the taser that Vanderwood had lended you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Do you really want to go there?” You said sadistically. Your vision was already turning red again, so you would not hesitate if he tested you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah! Scary! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Here!” He handed you the bag and you snatched it away.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">While walking back to your new claimed station, you stopped in your tracks. “Bother me again,” you turned on the taser threateningly, “and you’ll have trouble sitting for the next 6 months.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You didn’t look back to see his reaction, but you felt that a point was made since he stayed silent. You doubted this would be the case for the rest of your time there however. The thought made you wonder how many threats it would take until you actually went through with one. Your patience was definitely going to be tested. For now though, you just needed to get to work.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had been researching for 4 hours already. You had decided that you had enough crackhead dose for that day, so you didn’t bother talking to the hacker in that time.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You hadn’t found much information to your disappointment, so eventually you’d have to resort to investigating from the area.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You yawned. You might have slept the night before, but you didn’t necessarily feel rested. Those dreams had definitely not helped..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It also didn’t help that you were hungry due to a certain individual. You hadn’t really taken notice of it until now. It’s not like you fed yourself well on a regular basis, so this wasn’t too unusual. Still, the fish-shaped buns you were craving only egged at you. You’d have to buy some more the next morning, but this time you were definitely going to eat them before coming here.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed and stood up. You still had more work that you needed to do from home. There were still files you needed to run through and they were too much of a risk to carry around (especially now that you realized how careless you could be when accompanied by annoying individuals)</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had brought your own laptop, but seeing all the computers that the hacker had, you probably wouldn’t need to bring it anymore, just a usb or chip would do.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You packed the the laptop and checked that you still had your phone. This reminded you that you’d have to call the boss later, but you needed to prepare a script before getting enough courage to do that. The thought made you shiver.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned around to look at the hacker, who was still at his desk, his back facing you. He was looking down at something, so you assumed he was on his phone once again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You rolled your eyes and debated whether to even inform him that you were leaving. All the frustration from that single day lead you to choose against it. You walked towards the door, but was stopped midway.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yooo, Ms agent, you’re leaving without a goodbye? Oh the rudeness!~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He dramatically put a hand over his head as if he were in a soap opera. He had gotten out of his seat and was walking towards you. What a nightmare.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cursed and tried to keep walking, but he stopped you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Waitwaitwait!” He called out, finally reaching you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned around, completely annoyed. You could not handle more of his stupidity.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“God dammit, what do you want?” He looked at your piercing eyes and put his hands up as if surrendering.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I, Defender of Justice, come in peace!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You rolled your eyes impatiently, “hurry it up dumbass.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Gah! So mean! But alright.” He brought his hands down and reached for something in his pocket.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah,” he started to pull something out. “Here, it’s not exactly healthy, but you can have one of my babies since I ate your fish family,” he handed you what seemed to be a bag of chips.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Eh? A bag of chips will never make up for-“ you looked down at the bag and your eyes widened. </span> <span class="s2"> <em>Honey Buddha chips..</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You tried to hide your surprise since there was no way you’d give him gratification.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But- but I guess I’ll take it anyways, I’m sure there’s a homeless person that would appreciate it!” You said as convincingly as you could.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sighed, “Oh such a generous act of kindness, if only the mean lady would spare some of that kindness to me?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glared at him in response.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Agh, it hurts! The world is unfair to us good people-“ you snickered at his statement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If you’re a good person then I must be-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He kept going despite your interruption, “the cruelty we must endure for others; when will it end?!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed. “Is that all, or do you want me to smack you in the head as well?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He got out of his act and scavenged for something in his pocket. God, did this dude have multiple personalities or something? You had no idea when he was being serious.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He pulled out a folded sticky note and handed it to you. You stared at it dumbfounded. “Are you handing me your trash or?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He shook his head, “It’s a code.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Huh? Are you going to give me riddles or some crap now?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Mmm, I like your way of thinking, but nope! It’s a code with my phone number. You can never be too cautious!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You blinked at him. “Yeah no, I would’ve preferred the riddles way more.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He gasped, “I can send you some if you-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“NO!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He pouted at your reaction, but didn’t keep pushing it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well I guess I’ll be leaving then.” You opened the door and stepped out. You breathed in the fresh air.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"><em>Freedom</em>.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright alright! Don’t miss me too much! I know this distance will hurt but-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Temporary freedom.</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You slammed the door in his face, a grin of satisfaction arising when you heard his whining.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You walked down the small pathway and looked back at the house.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You smiled nervously</span> <span class="s2">.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">This was going to be hell~</span> </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Ah yes, the classic romance trope where the girl slams the door in the guys face; so romantic &gt;~&lt; Jokes aside, I wanted to mainly focus on how [MC] and Seven’s relationship will be for a while, so there wasn’t much focus on the case or even the plot in this one, but the story progresses more in the next chapter :D Hope u guys are enjoying the story! I’m a sucker for feedback, so don’t hesitate to express your thoughts hehe 💞</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. B̵a̵c̵k̵ ̵i̵n̵ ̵s̵e̵s̵s̵i̵o̵n̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ahhhh, so I’m not dead huh? I’ll explain the lack of updates at the end notes 😷 For now... Let’s celebrate bby Seven and Saeran’s birthdays, yeah? uwu</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared out the window of the cab, but made sure to keep a fine posture this time. It was already late and the sun was setting. It had been such a long day.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed. You were completely drained. You weren’t even going to be able to go home and relax. You had to continue to work on your other assignment, and you were hoping to get more research done on the new one. Long days like these weren’t unusual however, so you’d just have to pour yourself some wine and suck it up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You moved from the window and looked down at your bag. You had put the Honey Buddha chips inside, so you weren’t able to fully close it. You had mixed feelings about this gift (if you could even call it a gift) because on one hand, you were very fond of this piece of food, but on the other hand, it came from an alien.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared at the chips more intensely and then quickly looked away with a pout. You had only gotten to taste these chips a few times, and that was through bribing. Even with your skills, there wasn’t always someone willing to give them over.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You proceeded to remember one experience. Just recently, you had wandered inside a local convenience store while on a mission. You had been feeling fairly confident that day since the case was going as planned, so you took your shot at bribing for some Honey Buddha chips.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was when you got to the register that you realized something was off. There was already someone there. He was leaning over the counter while whispering something inaudible to the cashier. It looked almost as if they were making some type of drug deal, but you knew better. Oh, you knew better...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Of course, you didn’t feel like losing such a challenge and smirked to yourself. No way was this guy going to get the deal. You had walked up to the register and the two guys looked at you. You glanced at the guy on the customer end of the counter. He was blonde with big purple eyes. At that moment you both made eye contact and his face immediately flushed. You ignored him and started your ploy.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You leaned over the counter and smiled up at the cashier. He seemed to hold his breath. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have any..” you looked around the room like one of those clueless pretty girls, “..H...B chips, now would you?~..” You said the initials slowly and made sure to widen your smile significantly at the end. When you looked up at the cashier, he was as red as a fire extinguisher. You smiled to yourself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The man caught his breath and coughed a couple times before answering. “M-ms, hi- uh; we actually just ran out.. haha.. this boy here was the last one to get them, I’m sorry- but if you’re interested I’m free this fri....”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cancelled out the voice and turned around to look at the guy with purple eyes. He somehow managed to be completely red and flustered while also looking like he just saw a ghost. Your smile twitched and your eyes stared intensely into his soul. He gulped, clearly struggling to talk.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your confidence remained. He was an easy target; he’d probably hand you the chips if you just asked for them. You started to move closer to him and he immediately squirmed away.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I- uh-school-leave- sorry!” He blurted out the incoherent words and ran out of the store, the jingle from the door echoing the place. You dropped your act and frowned. The cashier looked back at you, but you only responded with a glare. He didn’t say a word afterwards.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Man, you had lost such an easy opportunity... and that boy so easily rejected you.. did he know you were an agent somehow? Was he aware of your tendencies and was able to see through your act? No one ever passed on one of your acts... if he saw through you, he must’ve been a very perceptive person. He didn’t look it, but maybe he was an agent undercover? </span> <span class="s2"> <em>Yes that’s probably the case..</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You remember muttering your thoughts out loud and leaving behind a confused cashier, completely forgetting why you were there in the first place.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Staring out of the window now, you realized that it had been one of the few situations where things didn’t go as planned. Today had been a new record however. That stupid redhead definitely wanted to get on your record list. He’d probably have a whole book filled out by the end of the week. The idea made you groan.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You felt the car stop and you realized you had arrived. You thanked the driver and stepped out of the car with your belongings. When he was out of sight, you started walking away from the area.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It was always a safety measure you took. You never actually revealed your real address. It was annoying having to walk more blocks down, but it’d be more annoying if you were suddenly attacked.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You started speed walking, which was honestly just “normal walking” to you, and took out your phone in the process. There were a couple of people walking down the street, but you moved out of the way without a glance.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scavenged your bag for the piece of the notecard that had the number on it. Once you found it, you pulled it out and typed the number into your contacts.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Before the visit, you had been texting Vanderwood through emails, but you figured it’d be much more comfortable talking to him through messages and calls. Not that it needed to be comfortable... this was all just to talk about the job of course. But it was surely more efficient to text from here, right? </span> <strike> <span class="s3">It wasn’t because you wanted to actually have someone to talk to, right?</span> </strike></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You shook your head and concluded that this was for business purposes only; as it should be. You didn’t have the privilege to enjoy having friends or even acquaintances. But this was a good thing! Those connections would only be distractions. You didn’t want them anyways..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You thought about the bet you had made with Vanderwood as you stared at the new contact. Surely that was business related... surely you could call him and just give him a fair update on what happened. It was all part of the job anyways right?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You clicked the call button on your phone and pulled it up to your ear. You kept dodging people on the sidewalk as you made your way to the entrance of the apartment building. The phone started to dial.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You opened the door and entered. At the same time, the other line picked up.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Oi, I’m guessing this is agent 306?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You shifted your phone closer to your ear and made yourself to the elevator. You spoke once the doors closed.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yes. That is is correct,” you said simply.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Ah.. I see. Here to tell me how wrong everything went? Haha.. the house is still in one piece right?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You held back a sarcastic response, reminding yourself that there was no need for such friendly chit chat. He was just another agent. Maybe you had given the wrong impression earlier. The situation was very amusing, so you hadn’t thought much about holding back. Perhaps that was a mistake...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Affirmative. The house did not receive any type of damage. The experience overall was not pleasant, but I’m sure changes can be made.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The doors to the elevator opened and you stepped out. The other line was silent for a few seconds.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">“Uh huh..” </span> </em> <span class="s1">he finally spoke.</span></p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">“Well.. I’m glad to hear that. Then again, maybe it would’ve been better if the house burned down hehe.. I’d have one less problem to deal with,” </span> </em> <span class="s1">you heard him sigh at the end of the line.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You were just barely able to stop yourself from agreeing. You had even unnoticeably covered your mouth with your free hand. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Keep it together [MC]!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I must disagree with you agent. Though it is true that my new partner does not seem fully qualified, it is directly ordered from the boss to work with him.” You had reached the door to your apartment. You made sure no one was around and clicked the door frame.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Fish-shaped buns 86,” you spoke to it once it emitted the blue light that indicated it was on. </span> <span class="s2"><em>“Access accepted,”</em> </span> <span class="s1">the robotic voice replied. You took out your keys from the bag and placed it into the keyhole. You turned the handle.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You continued your statement once inside. “So even if the work experience is not pleasurable, It is mandatory for the missi-“ Vanderwood spoke over you before you could finish.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><em>“Mission, yeah yeah...”</em> </span> <span class="s1">the line went silent for a few seconds, as if he were considering something. You slowly made your way to your small kitchen island and placed your bag on the counter. You patiently waited for a response.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As the seconds of silence extended, you started to wonder if you had said anything wrong. You had calculated your words to sound professional, and you couldn’t recall saying anything unrelated to work. You decided to apologize nonetheless.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I am very sorry if I said anything that was of your dismay, agent.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You heard a sigh from the other line, which only turned your expression into a frown. Had you messed up that badly? The cluelessness started to make you feel uneasy. He finally spoke again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“No, no that’s not the problem. You just sounded a bit different is all.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Different?” You questioned.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. It was just unexpected considering how you were acting earlier... just a change in personalities; no big deal.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You only replied with a sigh. So it had been your fault after all. You shouldn’t have acted so carefree earlier. Maybe now you wouldn’t be taken as seriously because of it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You couldn’t say you were surprised that Vanderwood noted the change in your attitude. You both had similar jobs that required going undercover a lot, so observations were a skill that was obtained over time. Most of the time, you were able to easily convince people that nothing was out of the ordinary, but it wasn’t going as planned in this situation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I am afraid that I don’t know what you mean agent, I take my work very seriously. In fact, I just called to update you on the situation, which I believe is only appropriate for the job.” You decided to keep going with it. You were still confident that you could outsmart him. You never failed these things... not even with other agents...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You received a laugh from his line which made your eye twitch with annoyance. Why wasn’t he taking you seriously?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Oh man, I just- haha.. I’m sorry, sorry, but you seriously expect me to believe this act? You aren’t... underestimating me.. now are you 306?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You didn’t reply, trying to calm your frustration. Spiraling out of control would just leave the wrong impression again. You were professional... you could stay calm... at least you hoped that this would be the case.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><em>“Aw come on agent, you met my stupid partner. He likes to pull little acts himself sometimes. Even he‘s more convincing than whatever you just did ahah-“</em> </span> <span class="s1">he ran into another laughing fit.</span></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You growled. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Stay calm [MC]... </span> </em> <span class="s1">you tried to soothe yourself... </span> <em> <span class="s2">Stay- </span> </em> <span class="s1"> You blinked.. did he just say that idiot hacker was better than you at your own job?!</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The cord finally snapped. “Now just who the hell do you think you’re talking to ‘Vandy?’ I’ll have you know that I’m a very capable agent who hasn’t failed a single case! You really think this stupid alien is better than me?! The one who doesn’t seem to take anything seriously?! Well let me just inform you-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were stopped in your tracks when you heard a choke from Vanderwood. He aggressively coughed before speaking again.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">“Oh god.. you really don’t like to be in the wrong, huh?? Aghhh, you’re both so stubborn...”</span> </em> <span class="s1"> he muttered the last part but you heard it clearly.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Both?” You asked, still trying to cool down from your rant.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s2">“And it seems like you’re both oblivious about it as well...”</span> </em> <span class="s1"> You perked up your eyebrows, not liking that he was comparing you, especially since they were lies. </span> <em> <span class="s2">I’m not stubborn or oblivious!</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Vanderwood seemed to sense your second wave of rants and started coughing dramatically again. You got the hint and decided to close your mouth before ruining your voice. You still needed to sound presentable when you called the boss later... </span> <em> <span class="s2">shit</span> </em> <span class="s1">; you had to call the boss later-</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">“Alright, now that you have shown me your true colors agent, tell me exactly what happened today. What was the real reason you called?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glared at nothing in particular and did your best to hold back a scream. You had to be as calm as possible..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It was a slightly frustrating experience..” you cautiously started but Vanderwood didn’t let you keep going.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s2"><em>“Be honest 306; be honest about how you really felt. Believe me I understand..”</em> </span> <span class="s1">You could clearly hear the tiredness and sympathy in his voice.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took in a deep breath. You usually would just scream into your pillow in a situation like this.. but why did you suddenly feel like telling this agent instead?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ok.. in all honestly.. it-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What proceeded was a delicacy to one’s ears. Vanderwood himself was left questioning if he would ever be able to hear out of his right ear again. Your throat most definitely was going to come back for revenge later that day. The only thing that seemed to get any benefit in the end, was your thoughts. It was weird, how you felt better after talking to this agent, rather than when you’d scream into a pillow or punch a wall here and there. It felt.. almost nice..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Neither of you spoke for at least a minute. Vanderwood was certainly trying to stop the ringing in his ears and you were still trying to control your breathing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a couple more seconds, you heard Vanderwood snort, and you surprisingly proceeded to copy that sound. Suddenly you both were a laughing mess. It got to the point where you were clutching your phone and trying not to cry. It was not something that you had experienced in a very long time. Were you... allowed to feel these things?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Vanderwood started talking again once he regained enough strength, but you could tell it was taking him a lot of effort to not break down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Ahh, i haven’t had such a good laugh since Seven fell off that one bridge... Man, he really took your phone and talked to the boss?Sucks you have to deal with that...”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You groaned at the reminder. “Yeah.. he’s intolerable, but I guess it’s just part of the job..”</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">He hummed in understanding. </span> <span class="s2"> <em>“Yeah, it’s definitely a tedious part of the job. But like I said before, you don’t have to let him get away with things either. Give him a scare if you have to, it always does the trick. You still have that taser I gave you, right?”</em> </span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You chuckled darkly at his remark. “I sure do, and I’ll definitely be putting it to use hehe..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You received a sound of approval from the other line, but it seemed like Vanderwood was focusing on something else. You realized this was indeed the case when he responded.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>“Oh, sorry, just got an email from the boss. I’m supposed to be leaving in a few minutes. Update me on your current situation later, yeah?”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You smiled at his implication that you’d be able to call him again, but the feeling was so confusing and foreign that you shrugged it off. You finally smirked and dismissed yourself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Will do Vandy~” you said teasingly and ended the call before he could complain.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared at your phone for a while, just enjoying the peaceful moments before reality hit you again. A lot had happened in one day; you wondered just how much would happen in the weeks to come. There was no telling with that redhead..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed and finally got yourself out of your seat. Reality had finally struck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You picked up your bag and started walking to your desk; you stopped midway however. You vividly remembered the redhead handing you a note. You’d have to contact that stupid agent huh? The reminder made your head start to ache. Without further hesitation, you walked to your kitchen and pulled out an unopened bottle of wine. So much stress had befallen on you today, so you deserved some type of treat, no?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once the bottle was in your grasp, you finally made yourself to your desk and settled down. You opened up your laptop and clicked a new tab, pulling out the sloppily written coding from the hacker right after. You understood the need for security, but you had a suspicion that he hadn’t given it to you for that reason. He really wanted to mess with you.. <em>how irritating..</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You spent 15 irreplaceable minutes of your day decoding the stupid number. Usually there was some sort of satisfaction when you got your result, but now you felt no joy when the digits were complete. You debated whether you should actually send him a text or if ignoring was best. Since you weren’t insane, you closed the tab filled with your contacts and moved on to your work.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As if on cue, the moment you picked up a file from the documents, your phone lit up with a new message. Was it Vanderwood?</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">When you checked the name, your face went pale, and then turned into a glare. </span> <span class="s2">How did he-</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You opened up the message to the new contact. You had named the contact “hacker dude” out of blatant disinterest. Your eyes skimmed over the message.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Yoooo, I know you decoded my number, so why are you now ignoring me 306!? :( I thought our bond was strong...</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You started typing a response without thinking. It was partially a rant, and partially a question as to how he knew. He beat you to it, however.</span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Tracker. I put a tracker inside the code so I can see when someone decodes it ^^ oooh ohh, I also wanted to know what you thought of the Honey Buddha Chips. I have a lot, soooo maybe if you were a bit nicer.. I could give you some more?? </em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You deleted your response and began typing up a new one. This one was another rant mixed with a threat so that he wouldn’t dare put any type of tracking device on you again. You were once again not able to send it though. </span> <em> <span class="s2">He’s a quick typer...</span> </em></p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Please don’t get mad about the tracker:( you’re scary when you’re mad hehe. I, Defender of Justice, pledge to neverrrrr put a tracker without your full permission&lt;3</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You groaned. He was trying to spite you, but you shouldn’t give him what he wants. Vanderwood had said that you shouldn’t let him get away with things, so maybe you could start setting some boundaries here. You typed a response, ignoring your urge to rewrite your previous rants. He’d take you seriously, even if it took time.. he’d eventually see what you’re truly capable of..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">You</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Work </span><strong><span class="s5">only</span></strong></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Eh???</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">You</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">You will text me regarding work ONLY. Do you really think we have time to mess around and talk about a bag of chips?! How can you be so careless? We can literally die any second because of our job, you idiot! Should I remind you that I now have to call the boss because of your stunt earlier?!</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You watched the 3 little dots on the corner of your screen dance, indicating that he was typing his response. You continued to stare at them carelessly until they disappeared altogether. You frowned. He was wasting your time by making you wait. Once you started your work, you would have your full attention on the assignments; you couldn’t afford to waste a single minute.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed and grabbed the file that you were planning to check earlier. You put it back down when you saw the 3 dots show up again. He finally replied.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude </span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">yeah... yeah! Okay!^^ From this point forward I shall only talk about that hellish work:( But...</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared suspiciously at the message. He agreed too quickly... something was definitely off.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">You</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">But...?</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Ooh, it’s nothing ^^ don’t worry about it! Don’t wanna distract you from your work&lt;33 ....</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You hummed. Maybe he had finally realized how serious you were. Perhaps you wouldn’t have to wait for recognition any longer.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">You</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><em><span class="s2">K</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The conversation should’ve ended there, considering that you hadn’t left much to talk about, but the unpredictable redhead was becoming more predictable it seemed..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Wait!! You were supposed to keep asking why:(((( agh, you’re probably just shy, but no worries! I am here to reveal my statement! </span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You looked at the screen with pure annoyance. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Don’t play along..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You set your phone face-down on your desk. You could just ignore him. You had a lot of work to do and-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your phone started ringing with new messages and it was immediately obvious what the idiot was doing. You flipped over your phone and was met with the whining of the hacker, carelessly spamming your notifications.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You growled and turned the ringer off your phone. </span> <em> <span class="s2">Ignore, ignore, ignore!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You grabbed the file once again and started scanning through it like a computer. When you saw nothing useful you set it aside and angrily grabbed another. You only got halfway through reading it before your phone made an awfully long ring.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“HOW?!” You yelled out loud and looked at your phone yet again.There were now 85 messages from the hacker. You opened them up and was met with an image. The picture showed the redhead screaming into a microphone dramatically. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">As you stared at it, he typed another message.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Ms. Agent! I forgot to tell you I also set an alarm on your phone in case of an emergency!^^ Did it work??</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You typed a response angrily. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>I TOLD YOU NOT TO ADD ANYTHING ELSE TO MY PHONE!!</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Hacker Dude</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>tsk tsk tsk. We agreed that I would not add any more TRACKERS to your phone ^^ Man, you gotta start being more specific, agent.. are you like this when interrogating people as well? No wonder the Boss called you...</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>OH HELL NO. You don’t get to say that you little sh-</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Hacker Dude</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Wow wow wow... agent.. calm down! Yikes... you’re really texting me at such an important time? Tsk tsk, don’t you know we could die any moment?! You should take your job more seriously sheesh... seriously.. so careless...</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The anger you felt at that moment was beyond anything you had felt the entire day. It was official; this jerk was breaking his own records, on the same fucking day! You were holding your phone so hard that you were surprised it didn’t crack. Fine! If he was gonna cross that line, then you would leap the hell off of it-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>OH YOU’VE DEFINITELY DONE IT THIS TIME FOUR EYES! JUST WAIT UNTIL I-</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Hacker Dude</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>yo, just got a chat; brb</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li3"><span class="s2"><em>...</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It is here where one should input the folktale of the tortoise and the hare. How does this apply to what just happened? Well.. the hare was making fun of the tortoise for being too slow.. this tortoise was unbothered by the commotion, and didn’t stop.. yes.. completely unbothered... the hare jumped and jumped, but it never crossed the line... it never crossed the line... so what happens when the tortoise finally wins the race by CROSSING the line? Well the hare can’t seem to take it.. it can’t take the line being crossed... so this hare... what does this hare do? Well, it may not be in the tale itself, but you have the uncensored version. The version where... THE HARE BEATS THE SHIT OUT OF THE TORTOISE WHO DOESN’T RESPECT BOUNDARIES AND CONTINUES TO CROSS THE LINE COMPLETELY UNBOTHERED-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took a deep breath, but your attempt at calming down failed immediately. You had to relax before you punched your poor wall...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glanced at the bottle of wine and without hesitation and with inhuman strength, you pulled off the cork and started drinking straight from the bottle. You weren’t usually this messy, at least you hadn’t been for the last few years, but oh boy, the rich taste was spilling everywhere.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">About 10 minutes later and halfway through the wine bottle, you received another text message. You looked away from your laptop and opened it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">yooooo, God 7 is back! What is it that the poor peasant was trying to tell me? Or were you perhaps just sending your prayers?? ^^</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You typed two simple words and took another chug from the bottle.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Fuck you</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Such profanities... do you want me to send you a bible dear child? &lt;3</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">You</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Fuck you</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Hacker Dude</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Oh.. are you saying?... Wow.. I see... I didn’t know you felt that way. I mean I know I’m insanely attractive but-</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>You</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>You’re fucking dead you stupid tortoise- BYE</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s2">Hacker Dude</span> </em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s2">Tortoise?? Huh, that’s a new one... but waitwaitwait! Before you leave!! Please, just one last thing!!</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took another sip, entering his trap without second thought. </span>
</p><p class="p2">
  <em>You<br/>
</em>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>What?!</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s2"> <em>Hacker Dude</em> </span>
</p>
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><span class="s2"><em>Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr- Nothing! I just wanted to be the one to leave first^^ You should really get to work [MC], sigh, how are we supposed to finish the assignment at your pace?... oh well, hasta mañana, sayonara!!&lt;3</em></span></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your hazy state didn’t question how he knew your name yet again. You would’ve never thought that the hare ended up acting like an alcoholic after losing the race... that’s some dark shit. You took another sip from the wine and sighed. There was no type of rest scheduled for you in the upcoming hours. But that was not so bad.. you needed this distraction. And to be frankly honest, you really didn’t want it to turn into the next day.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fuck tortoises,” you muttered under your breath. Without further thought, you dug back into your work. The workaholic was back in session. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Let’s cut to the chase: I was kidnapped by someone named writer’s block! Such a tragedy, but I’m ok now :D Lmao, but seriously, I rewrote this chapter a few times since we’re about to hit the main plot. I wasn’t too confident about how I wanted it to go, but I have a better idea now, so I should get back to updating way more frequently than whatever this break was. I’m sorry to keep you all waiting! This story has gotten more hits than I expected, so thank you a lot for that as well! On a separate note, I have no idea where that Tortoise and the Hare comparison came from lmao. I was like “she’s definitely getting drunk so she needs to do drunk people shit” and that was the result lol. Anyhow, as I mentioned before, I’m a sucker for feedback so I’d love to hear your thoughts so far! ❤️</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. A̵n̵o̵t̵h̵e̵r̵ ̵s̵u̵r̵p̵r̵i̵s̵e̵ ̵</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Finally a plot heavy chapter hehe... ok but seriously, it’s about to get chaotic 😳 Also, thank you for 100 kudos!!! I’m glad you guys are enjoying the story. We hit it just in time for the good stuff as well ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So...you were drunk. Of course even you had your limits. It had been a while since you had drank this much. Surprisingly, being in this state never interferes with your work, but it definitely makes you a bit more... clueless? Yeah, let’s go with that.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">That being said, your clueless state sometimes does </span> <strike> <span class="s2">stupid</span> </strike> <span class="s1"> not-very-well-thought-out-things: like calling the boss.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yep, you had called the boss.. Of course such a great agent like yourself didn’t let some beverage get in the way of your work. So that means you hadn’t forgotten about calling the boss...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had passed out on your desk, the bump on your forehead indicating that it hadn’t been a very comfortable land. The sun was barely rising outside so you hadn’t been out cold for long.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stared at your call history in fear. Looking at your phone with worry had started to become a routine these past few days. You couldn’t get yourself to click on it though. What if you had said something stupid?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The call recorder was a feature you had installed after your first mission. A rookie mistake as an agent was to never gather enough evidence. Though your first case had ended well, you were unable to provide evidence for the calls you had made with the individual. Because of that,every call you now make or receive is instantly recorded and saved to a file on your phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed and finally opened the recording. You sucked in some breath as it started to play.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s3"> <em>Recorder:</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s3"> <em>“Oh, 306, you finally called. I thought you’d keep me waiting all day.”</em> </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You mentally prepared yourself for your response. You had no idea what to expect. Who knows, maybe you were more stupid when drunk than you had previously thought. Maybe your words would be incoherent..</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You heard a chuckle coated in your voice and you froze. </span> <em> <span class="s3">Shit shit shit</span> </em> <span class="s1">, were you going to start laughing over nothing?</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“Sorry ‘bout that. I was working on the case all day. I figured it’d be more productive to call you once I was finished. It appears I have some time to spare. Is there something you wanna tell me?“</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You stared at the recording in shock. That confidence.. in front of the boss?! Where had that come from? Crap.. but too much confidence couldn’t be good.. those agents.. you had seen what could happen to agents who didn’t know their place. Agents who had been given one-time warnings. One of those agents,</span> <em> <span class="s3"> being you.</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">There was no answer for a good moment. </span> <span class="s3"><em>No no no</em>... </span> <span class="s1">had you upset her? You heard a small laugh from the boss that you could tell she contained.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“I think that’s the first time in a while that I don’t hear you stutter, agent. Quite impressive. What brings this sudden change, may I inquire?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You didn’t hesitate to answer, which was once again a rare phenomenon coming from you. This voice was so foreign to you, at least in this perspective. You always had different roles to play in your job, but those were all an act. This... this voice was coming from </span> <span class="s3"><em>you</em>. </span> <span class="s1">The </span> <em> <span class="s3">you</span> </em> <span class="s1"> that you hadn’t seen in a while.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“Ah, what can I say, just doing my job, right? Why stutter over someone who isn’t even facing me. Not worth the energy.. wouldn’t you agree?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You yelped in surprise and almost fell out of your seat. What the hell had you just said- Why?!-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“... 306 what is this attitude? I know sometimes you’re a bit careless when answering... but I haven’t heard you correct yourself like you normally would...”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was a long pause and your heart started beating faster. The recording continued and you listened closely, fear eating at you all at once. You heard yourself laugh again.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><em> <span class="s3">“Oh- oh- I’m so sorry boss!” </span> </em> <span class="s1">Your voice was full of mockery.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“... is that really what you wanna hear? Want me to kiss your feet too? Haha... ‘know your place’ that’s what you said back then.. I do know my place.. you need me more than you’re letting on, boss.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Silence. Utter silence, from both you and the recording. Your heart was racing so fast that you couldn’t help but think that it’d stop any moment... perhaps that would be for the best. Everything you had just said... it was an undeniable death written in stone. It was no longer an exaggeration. After all, you had already used up your one and only warning 2 years ago. That alone was a miracle. Most agents wouldn’t even get a warning. There was no way the boss would let this go. She could replace you any second- </span> <em> <span class="s3">What the hell were you thinking-</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s3"><em>“306... I thought we had fixed your attitude long ago.. what’s this all of a sudden? Is this really how you wish to leave this world? Is that what thi</em>s-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cut off the boss.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“You can try to scare me all you want, boss, but we both know that you need me.. that’s why you gave me that warning back then, right? You saw the potential... it was never an act of sympathy like you wanted me to believe; it was pure manipulation.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You lost your grip on the phone and it landed on the ground. The sound of the impact echoed in your head. The recording kept playing its encoded tune, not caring that you were struggling to breathe. </span> <em> <span class="s3">Why-</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was a sigh that came from the boss</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“Very well, [MC]. Then I guess it won’t be long until we talk again. But don’t think that just because I’m letting you free that you can let your guard down. I’m keeping my eyes on you. Pull any funny stunts and no warning is going to save you.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You reached down and grabbed your phone, believing that the call was over, but you heard your voice once more.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“You done with your monologue, boss? Could use some work if you ask me. What did that redhead say about your vocals earlier? Ha.... but...jokes aside.. why the hell did you call in the first place?”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You put your focus on the recording, also wondering what the previous call had been about. But also why did you bring up that redhead?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“Ah.. well I guess that’s not important anymore, though I was previously going to t...ll- c.....ck - ... Se-.... f...l..s-“</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There was an interference in the end which took you by surprise. Your phone shouldn’t be getting these types of glitches... what was happening?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You seemed to respond though your voice was also distorted. You had no idea what was going on, or what had happened to the recording. It was clear that you had heard her in the call. So what happened to the recording?</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The call ended after that, the last thing you heard was </span> <em> <span class="s3">“..ven?”</span> </em> <span class="s1"> Which came from your own voice, though still distorted.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You set your phone on your desk and stared blankly into space... that only lasted a few seconds.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">Smack!</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You slapped your forehead with immediate regret, forgetting about the bump you had received earlier.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You hissed and slowly started to rub circles on your temple to soothe the ache.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You couldn’t comprehend what you had just heard. Nothing- nothing made sense. What had just happened?! Why were you so direct to the boss? Why did the boss even let you free?! You weren’t really that important to the agency... right? And somehow being drunk brought out a different personality?? What was the boss planning to tell you earlier? What was she planning to do now?! And why did you mention the stupid hacker- No, why did your recording glitch all of a sudden?! WHY WHY WHY</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“GAHHH,” you groaned out loud and covered your face with your hands. You spun once on your chair, your knees hitting the desk before you could make a full rotation. Everything was so confusing!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The simple fact that you were somehow not dead after making that call made it more baffling. Mentioning the incident from 2 years ago to the boss was the equivalent to going up to her and spitting in her face. Seriously, how the hell were you not a corpse right now?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You growled in frustration, but decided to straighten back up on your chair. You had to make sure you hadn’t done anything else that was stupid in your drunken state. There was only that one call from last night at least, but you still had to check your messages.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had very few contacts, but it didn’t look like you had sent anything. You scrolled up to your newest contacts and prepared for the worst. You clicked open Vanderwood’s icon and immediately sighed with relief when nothing had been sent. But there was still one individual left..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The simple fact that your drunk self had mentioned the hacker and agreed with his actions was beyond your line of understanding. There was a chance you sent something stupid.. and if you did, you would never hear the end of it.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You clicked his contact and your eyes immediately caught a new message coming from you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Slowly your eyes moved to read it, but you blinked confusingly when you saw what was written.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">You</span> </em>
</p><ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><em><span class="s3">Se-... a@2wid@/&amp;83sk/8:&amp;0wim</span></em></li>
</ul><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What the hell had your written? You were glad it wasn’t anything too embarrassing, but the whole ordeal gave you a bad feeling. He hadn’t responded yet, so you’d have to come up with some explanation when you saw him in a few hours. You had probably just made a very bad typo since you were in a tipsy state. But still... why did you feel like you had already seen this somewhere before?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The more you tried to find answers, the more your head started to spin. You were just barely feeling the effects of the hangover and the bump on your head was not helping one bit. You’d have to find answers at a slower pace. You weren’t going to get anything in this current condition.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The day had just begun and it was already chaotic.. you didn’t want to see what awaited you the next few hours. You couldn’t shake off this negative feeling.. </span> <em> <span class="s3">that this wasn’t the only surprise you’d be getting today.</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s3">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were finally prepared to leave. You had taken a shower and had used a good amount of your time applying makeup to hide your embarrassing bump.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You didn’t pack your laptop this time since the hacker already had many computers at his disposal. All you needed to bring was a microchip filled with your research and you’d be good to go.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had surprisingly gotten a lot of research done for someone who was black-out drunk. Though your working habits remained productive, you were still not immune to the hangover it induced. You had chosen an outfit with sunglasses to cover up your poor red eyes. Not to mention you didn’t get any rest after listening to the call, so your eye bags were not able to fade completely despite your makeup.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You stopped briefly in front of your mirror and nodded at your reflection. You had done as much as you could. You had still chosen to wear a pencil skirt and a white blouse, but you ditched the heels that you had on yesterday. </span> <em> <span class="s3">At least one part of your body needs to be comfortable..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You shut the door to your apartment and did your usual routine of glancing sideways to make sure no one was around. When the coast was clear, you clicked the keyframe and inserted a new password.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Activate new password: Honey Buddha 39”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s3"><em>“Password: Honey Buddha 39 has been successfully activated.</em>”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Once the blue light faded, you walked away towards the elevator. You had already called a cab to the location of the fish-bun post, so you would be able to arrive around the same time.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your stomach growled at the thought of getting your hands on some fish-shaped buns. That stupid alien had slaughtered your precious food; you weren’t going to forgive him for such a crime!</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You quickly made your way out of the lobby once the elevator opened. You hadn’t even realized how fast you had walked to the location until you recognized the delicious smell. </span> <em> <span class="s3">The unmistakable smell~</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You turned the corner of the street and saw the beautiful truck waiting for your arrival. For a good moment all your worries disappeared. You couldn’t help the childish smile on your face that egged with anticipation. </span> <em> <span class="s3">That loser ate all six... then I’ll eat six as well!</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You were now close enough to the food truck that you realized there was someone ordering. You heard a beautiful chuckle as you approached... </span> <em> <span class="s3">that chuckle </span> <span class="s1">...</span> <span class="s3">could it be..?</span> </em></p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You got closer and your assumption was correct. Your face flushed just at the sight of his back. </span> <em> <span class="s3">Get yourself together god dammit!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Without thinking, you lightly slapped your face to regain control of your senses, but you underestimated the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Just as fast as your hand left your cheek, the white-haired specimen turned around to find the source of the sound. The old man in the food truck also turned. To say you were embarrassed would be the understatement of the century.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You quickly looked away self consciously, but the red-eyed man...Zen.. seemed unfazed. You felt a tap on your shoulder and you froze; or perhaps your spirit left your body? Both were believable.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned around slowly until your eyes made contact with his red ones. You didn’t miss the kind smile on his face. The old man on the other hand, was laughing like he had heard the funniest joke of his life.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey, you’re that cute lady from yesterday!~ I’m glad we meet again.. it must be fate? haha,” he gave you a sweet grin, but his eyes gave away how he was teasing you. Your face turned even redder, probably more than should be humanly possible.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">Come on [MC]! Just act like one of your characters!</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You cleared your throat and tried releasing some words.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ye-yeah, fate- mus- must be t-that haha...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">WTF, HOW DID YOU MESS THAT UP SO BADLY?!</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zen stared at you, but there was no judgement in his eyes. He gave kind smile and guided you to the truck since you seemed to have trouble walking there.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">The old man was just barely getting a grip of his laughter which only made you turn away with a pout. </span> <em> <span class="s3">Betrayal...</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He handed over a bag to Zen, but before you could order, he spoke instead.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“Oh, and 3 fish-shaped buns for the lady,” he turned and winked at you. Without much thought, you touched your upper lip in fear that you had managed to get a nosebleed. You sighed in relief when all you felt was sweat... </span> <em> <span class="s3">wait.. sweat?! You were a mess!</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You finally managed to speak somewhat coherently. “Wha- wait! You don’t have to! I have my own money-“ Zen stared back at you with curious eyes and then chuckled lightly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah, you must not like people handing you things... you rather get them on your own?” He looked at you for confirmation and your managed to nod, surprised by his observation.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmm, I’m like that too. I’m an actor, so I want to grow bigger on my own terms, not by getting lucky..” he glared at nothing specifically after his last statement, and you couldn’t help but wonder who had made him so mad.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He seemed to snap out of it and looked back at you a bit embarrassed. “Ah, sorry about that. This one person just makes my blood boil..” The old man then came back out and handed you your bag, but you took out your money before Zen could; you couldn’t help giving him a cheeky grin.He smiled and nodded at your victory.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Fair enough, young lady. But say... I don’t think you’ve told me your name. Oh- I’m Zen, by the way. I didn’t officially introduce myself either~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah- oh, well I’m-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were about to make up a name, but somewhere in your conscious, a voice stopped you. For a good second you couldn’t say anything. Without further thought, you spit out some words.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m [MC]!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your face paled at your answer... did you really just... reveal...to a stranger... ?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zen didn’t seem to notice your reaction and smiled at you. “I see, that’s a pretty name! Well I’m glad I got to meet you [MC]. I hope you come around here more often~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He took his bag from the counter and turned to you. “Oh- one last thing,” he pulled out paper and a pen out of his pocket.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your heart started beating rapidly. Such a beautiful person... number.. you?! Your thoughts were jumbled. But just as quickly as your face flushed, guilt took upon your conscious. But.. even if he... you couldn’t accept.... even if you wanted to... you couldn’t-</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He finished writing and handed you the paper. “Here. These are different foods and cosmetics you can use for hangovers. They’re a real pain, but this always helps me~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You blinked and took the paper from his grasp. You were completely shocked and embarrassed by your assumptions. “Th-thanks- Zen!” He nodded. “Anytime; hope it helps. I wouldn’t want to see such a pretty lady suffering from a hangover~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">With a final wink, he moved from the truck, leaving you awestruck.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were locked in place for a couple of seconds. What the hell had just happened. Did you really say your real name to a stranger?! And your dumbass really thought he was gonna give you his number... why were you actually kinda bummed out that that wasn’t the case? Ughhhhhh- but seriously it’s not like you could accept anyways...but wait; <em>was your hangover that obvious?!-</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your thoughts were broken by a laugh. You quickly turned to the old man leaning on the counter. “Man, your reactions are so embarrassing! It’s hilarious!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You pouted. “Thanks for the review; enjoy the show?” You grumbled out loud. He remained unfazed and only seemed to increase his laughter. “Ah, very much, very much indeed. I hope the next installment comes out soon.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He chuckled one last time and you sighed. You took the bag from the counter, but remembered that you had planned to get 6 fish buns out of spite.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh ermm, actually, could you add 3 more?” You asked the old man before you forgot.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look in the bag,” he said nonchalantly. You looked inside. Sure enough, there were 3 more buns than the white-haired man had ordered for you. You quirked an eyebrow at the man and he just gave you a knowing smile. “I know my customers, what can I say,” he chuckled and you didn’t question any further. You were sure that your cab had arrived by now anyways, so you shouldn’t waste any time.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Uh huh... well ok weird man, I guess I’ll take my leave.. but thank you- N- not for the embarrassment, but the food,” you said one last time and took your leave.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When you finally spotted the cab waiting for you, you knew it was gonna be a hell of a long ride.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The robotic voice repeated itself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“To enter, please say ‘god seven rocks’ in Arabic”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You grumbled incoherently, but finally gave in. “Allah sbet sukhur,” you muttered. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You waited for something to unlock, but nothing happened.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“I’m sorry, my coding didn’t quite catch that. Please make sure your voice can be heard.”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“To enter, please say-“</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your blood boiled. “Allah sbet sukhur!!”You yelled, just barely stopping yourself from punching the monitor.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You waited once again, and you sighed when you finally heard something click.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">“You have successfully followed the instructions: welcome, mean agent lady”</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The door opened and you glared at the monitor as if it were a real person. “Fucking bastard,” you cursed under your breath, closing the door behind you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You made your way to the room filled with all the tech. Unlike yesterday, you actually tried to pay attention to your surroundings. The redhead had quite a large house, but every other room looked vacant, so you doubted he moved from that tech room a lot. You didn’t get the big deal of having a large home. One person in a big empty space.. you were quite happy all huddled up in your small apartment.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You noticed he didn’t have anything hanging on the walls. Your eyes ran past the walls and stopped when they came to a corner. With one final sigh, you turned the corner and entered the room. Your eyes widened at the sight.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What. The. Fuck.”You said out loud and made your presence known. The hacker turned his chair and faced you nonchalantly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Whatswrong?” He asked with his mouth filled with chips.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ugh,” you looked away at the gross sight of him and made your way to the small little station that you had claimed for yourself. You took off your sunglasses and set your bag down. You finally faced him again. “How the hell did you manage to make such a mess?! It hasn’t even been a day!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">There were empty chip bags and crumbs all over the floor. He had pushed aside the mess on his desk very carelessly, so everything but a small area was filled with junk. You noticed there were also 3 empty cans of P.H.D pepper laying around; another was currently In his grasp.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Idonthavetime,” he gulped down the chips, “to clean,” he finally concluded.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You groaned. “You don’t have time to clean but you have time to text me nonsense?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ah ah ah, I was texting you for work related reasons; you’re the one who went off topic, no?~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re the one who started!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But you continued~~~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You were being stupid-!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Agent, I think you secretly enjoy talking to me; no need to fake it~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turned away completely annoyed. You had figured yesterday that this was how it was normally going to be, so you had to get used to it. You decided to change the topic.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Did you find any important information?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You took out the microchip from your bag and walked to his desk.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmmm, not really,” he said carelessly. You ignored his attitude.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Elaborate?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked at you with a fake big smile. “No, Ms. agent, I did not find much.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You glared at him and he lost his fake composure.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“ahem... that being said, there was </span> <strong> <span class="s5">something</span> </strong> <span class="s1"> I discovered..”</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“oh wowwww, the suspense is killing me! What is it, oh-so-amazing hacker?” You said it in the most mocking tone you could muster. You were surprised he played along.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I thought you’d never ask! I discovered... drum roll please,” he looked at you expectantly and you realized what he wanted you to do. You groaned. “Not happening.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He raised his eyebrows at you and stayed in the same position. You sighed, but smirked when you got a better idea.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You moved over to his head and started to tap it harshly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Owowowowow!!! Drum roll over! It’s over- agH-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stopped hitting his head and looked at him innocently. “You were saying?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He rubbed his scalp and opened a tab on his computer.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I present to you,” he zoomed in on the image on the screen, “suspect numero uno.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked closely at the picture. “I thought we already had the suspect,” you recalled. Vanderwood had sent you the information on some unknown guy before you came here.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You are correct. We know it’s a guy, but the only picture I was able to find on them didn’t give me a clear face. Anyhow, I’ve been observing people outside of the building to see if I spot any guy that could resemble our dear intruder.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay... so who’s this dude?” You pointed at the screen. The person was carrying a box and entering the building.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This fella is our good-boy, the delivery guy. It’s a fairly good suspect. He goes in and out, comes in with something, leaves with nothing... or does he?? Plus he wears a hat,” he said it as if he were explaining a movie script.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What’s wrong with the hat?” You asked perplexed.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It looks very suspicious!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You grumbled at his remark and moved away from the screen.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay, so say this is our target. How are you going to find out?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He thought for a moment and then spoke. “Like I mentioned yesterday, I can’t do much from here. Gonna have to infiltrate or something.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Okay... easier said than done. Still have no idea what you want me to do though. Mind explaining for once?” You said the words quite bitterly. Your partner didn’t seem to be taking things seriously. If you had his hacking skills then you wouldn’t have to rely on him at all. What a dream...</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hehe... I still kind of need to figure that out~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You grunted and rubbed your temple, wincing when you accidentally touched the hidden bump on your head.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You good Ms. agent?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yeah... just hurry up. Life is on the line and all that crap, remember?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Gah; can’t the poor hacker catch a break? I’ve been up all night,” he started whining.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s3"><em>You’re not the only one, dumbass</em>, </span> <span class="s1">you mentally said.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well clearly you weren’t too focused since all you managed to do is find some guy with a hat suspicious. Use that dumb brain of yours and come up with a plan,” you stated. And it was true. He apparently stayed up all night but found nothing useful. You could’ve pointed at anyone on the screen and said they were a suspect. You highly doubted he worked on the case for long, but you wouldn’t make that assumption just yet.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You handed him the microchip with all the information you had gathered overnight. It included dates, possible rivaling companies, suspicious deals, anything that you could find.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Here, it’s all I was able to find; hope it’s useful,” you stated simply.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He groaned at the fact that he had more work, but didn’t complain. You thanked god that you could finally have some peace.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You walked to your small station and turned on a computer. You rummaged through the drawers on the desk and were glad to find a plug that you could connect to your phone. You connected the plug to the computer and soon you could start researching the files on your phone.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yo, so whatchu gonna do now agent?” The redhead’s voice asked from behind.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed. “I have another case I’m working on, so I might as well take advantage of your laziness and work on it.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He hummed. “Ah.. two cases.. you must barely get rest then. Is that why you have a hangover?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You groaned, remembering what Zen had said earlier. “Is it really that obvious?!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He chuckled lightly, and you were surprised that for a brief moment he wasn’t judging you.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Eh, my friends talk about it sometimes. Not that hard to spot anymore... well that and... I’ve just seen people under the influence up close.. I guess.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You quirked an eyebrow. You decided not to question his last bit of the statement. You were too aware of the dark backgrounds that agents had. And you knew far better than anyone to never ask. Instead you focused on another point.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You have friends??” It might have sounded like a jab to anyone else, but it was a genuine question that you had. Agents didn’t make friends.. not without reason, at least.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmm, I guess so. They haven’t kicked me out yet, so that makes us acquaintances at best...” he laughed without humor after that. You could tell he understood his situation, which was surprising considering how out-of-this-world he acted.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Interesting,” you finally said. For some reason you couldn’t bring yourself to scold him for trying to have a normal life. Maybe if he told you these things yesterday, you would have.. but you had too many things clouding your mind after that morning. The call had been bugging you all day.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After a while, the hacker spoke again. He wasn’t annoying you so much anymore, so you didn’t complain.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey [MC], I forgot to ask you if you called the boss. How upset was she? haha.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your hand froze on the mouse of the computer. Everything about that sentence bothered you. How he knew your name... or perhaps the reminder that you had given away your name just a while ago to a stranger... the reminder of the boss.. the call... Your heart started beating faster without you noticing.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How do you know my name?” You finally asked the lingering question. It was surprisingly the least of your worries out of everything that had happened the last few hours.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hm? Took you a while to ask hehe... but to put it simply, I may or may not have hacked into the agency’s files~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You gasped. “You-“ you turned your seat to face him, only to find that he was already positioned facing your way.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ahhh, don’t kill me, please!!” He pleaded stupidly like all the other times before. But you finished your statement.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You... managed to do that.. without getting caught?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He was unable to hide the shock on his face. It was obvious he had expected you to get mad. The only expression on your face was surprise.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Y-yeah.. I’m a pretty good hacker, I guess, but shhhh, not even Vanderwood knows. The agency wouldn’t be too happy if they found out~”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You furrowed you’re eyebrows at his comment.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Then.. why did you tell me?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He stared at you blankly for a second. “Eh... I’m.. not sure, actually..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You didn’t say anything and there was an awkward silence after that. You turned back to your work, trying to ignore the thoughts swimming in your head.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were interrupted yet again a few moments later.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Errrr, agent. There’s something wrong with your chip thingy.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Confused, you turned around. “Huh?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Look,” he said. “The files are all distorted. There must’ve been some corruption when you were transmitting it..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You got out of your seat to take a closer look. Sure enough, the articles and reports were unreadable. But.. it was completely fine when you checked it...</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“I-i’m not sure what happened..” you managed to say. The situation gave you a bad feeling. A bad feeling that you had carried ever since that call... and that message... </span> <em> <span class="s3">the message..</span> </em></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey, um, Seven... did you receive any messages from me today?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He frowned. “No, not since last night. Why? Something wrong?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You thought for a second. “Can you check?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked at you perplexed, but grabbed his phone and opened his messages anyways.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He scrolled and finally hummed. “No, nothing here...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You tried to keep your composure.. it was probably nothing.. right?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You leaned over and checked his screen. He wasn’t lying.. the weird message wasn’t there. But maybe.. it just hadn’t sent?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You scrambled to your occupied desk and unplugged your phone from the cord. You brought it over and opened the messages.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your face went pale when you saw nothing on your screen. The message wasn’t there anymore... what if it had never been there in the first place? Were you just going insane?!</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Seven noticed your shocked expression and you saw a glimpse of worry cloud over his face. It didn’t last long before it changed to a neutral one.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You seem to be worried, agent, but to be fair.. you were drinking last night.. are you sure.. you were fully conscious when you.. saw whatever it is you saw?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You looked at your screen, and then at his. Maybe.. he was right.. but why did you feel like that wasn’t the case?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Still, it was just a weird typo.. why were you so worried about a random message? And the files getting corrupted... it was probably just a glitch. You were just too overwhelmed with the call you had, so you must’ve started imagining things..</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Yes... you were just.. <em>imagining things...</em></span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You sighed and gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah.. yeah I guess you’re right. I underestimated how much I drank..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">A thought lingered in your head and you grinned. You moved down to the hacker’s ear level and spoke.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But it was because of your sorry ass that I needed to drink in the first place, so I’m not gonna apologize.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You ruffled his hair not-so-gently, making him whine. You walked away and gave him one last warning. “Hurry it up or you’ll be begging to keep all your limbs intact.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He gave you a smirk. “Ah, but I already told you that the agency wouldn’t hurt me; I’m too precious to them~ doubt they’d just get rid of you either.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You froze again, remembering the call.</span>
</p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p class="p1">
    <em> <span class="s3">“We both know that you need me..”</span> </em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p class="p1"><span class="s1">You</span> <span class="s1">shook the voice out of your head. You weren’t doing yourself any favors by remembering.</span></p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Whatever you say, four-eyes. Even if that’s true, you do remember I have a taser right? The agency might not get rid of you,” you cracked your fingers for dramatic effect, “but maybe you should be more worried about me.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The hacker was smart enough to fear your voice and didn’t respond directly, though you heard him muttering about how <em>“good people got the worst,”</em> under his breath. You merely rolled your eyes and sat down.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">~</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were clicking through different articles just trying to find some distraction to dose in. Truthfully, you could be working on your other assignment, but your head wasn’t in the right place to concentrate.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">About 5 minutes ago, you started hearing the hacker type away on his phone, so you guessed he was talking on that chat thing he had mentioned. The tapping you could let slide, but the random snickers coming out of his annoying mouth were too much for you. You were getting a headache.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“God dammit, keep it down! You’re supposed to be working on the case!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sorry, sorry,” he said through chuckles. “Ah Yoosung is just too easy to tease hehe...”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You had no idea who he was talking about, but you didn’t bother asking. “Torture whoever you want, just keep it in your head, god..”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Alright alright, I’ll be quiet,” he finally said.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It lasted for a good 2 minutes; then you heard a gasp and something falling on the ground.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Your last nerve was pulled and you got out of your seat.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Holy shit you can’t even follow a simple order-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The redhead moved hurriedly across the room to a different set of computers.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You furrowed your eyebrows.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Err.. did something happen?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He didn’t answer, but you heard him mumbling “what the hell” too many times to be considered holy. You were about to tease him about it, but he slammed his fist on the desk and you stopped yourself.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <em> <span class="s3">What was happening?</span> </em>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“...Yo, Seven, what the hell are you going on about? And be more careful with your items.. gosh,” you said, picking up the chair that he had dropped.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You were starting to get tired of his silence, which was ironic considering how you were telling him to shut up just 2 minutes ago.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey, stop ignoring me you idiot!” When he walked by you again, you grabbed him by his hoodie and turned him around effortlessly.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What happ-“ he answered before you could ask again.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Th-the messenger has been hacker,” he finally said.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You raised your eyebrow. “Huh?”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looked at you more seriously.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Somebody hacked my messenger.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He pulled away from your grasp and you didn’t fight it. You took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling.</span>
</p><p class="p1"><span class="s1">Great, just what you needed; </span> <em><span class="s3">another surprise...</span> </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Welp... that was a whole lot to unravel lmao. But wow, it finally happened?!?! Bet you thought it’d be 50 more chapters until the tags came to life lol. This was the chapter i had to reconsider a lot when writing the last one. It’s where we finally, FINALLY reach the main storyline. Originally, I was planning to have the reader confront the boss wayyyy later in the story (character development tingz uwu) but I actually found this concept more interesting in the end. What do ya’ll think? I’m gonna go more in depth about our main story next chapter. I’d love to hear what you guys think so far&lt;3 Any theories perhaps? Give me anything you’ve got haha 👀</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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